


To Nourish

by MaruMaruOwl



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Anorexia Mention, Belly Kink, Feeding, Hurt/Comfort, Kink Discovery, Love Across The Universe: Dangan Salmon Team, M/M, Other characters in minor roles - Freeform, Stuffing, Time Loop, aggressive care, but it's actually pretty darn fluffy, disordered eating behaviors, kinkshaming, rated for Ouma's dirty mouth, self-neglect
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-27
Updated: 2018-08-20
Packaged: 2019-02-22 17:37:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 82,872
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13171902
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MaruMaruOwl/pseuds/MaruMaruOwl
Summary: Kokichi Ouma wasn't eating. Kokichi Ouma was letting himself waste away, for unknown reasons, and Shuichi Saihara would absolutely not allow it to continue.He'd expected resistance, he'd expected frustration...but what he hadn't expected was to discover a hidden aspect of his own psyche...and a secret about this world, this twisted "dating show", that he'd perhaps...forgotten.





	1. To Heal

**Author's Note:**

> I can't believe I'm writing this. I wanted to write something fun and kinky, but then FEELINGS happened. 
> 
> You'll be able to piece it together, but just for clarity, this story takes place in the Salmon Team mode, but the killing game has already happened in a previous timeline. That might explain Shuichi's surprising boldness, since he's already been through his character development...though he doesn't remember any of it. It's lying under the surface somewhere inside him.
> 
> Man, writing Ouma is challenging, but it's also really, really fun. Speaking of which, this story will mostly use the NIS localization, so first names are used, though I've tweaked a couple of things to my own liking. "Ouma", for one.
> 
> TAKE HEED OF THE TAGS. There will be fetish stuff in here. The stuffing in this first chapter is pretty mild compared to what I usually write, but...it may get a bit more intense in the future. Also, if you're very sensitive to kinkshaming, you may want to steer clear, as Ouma is a kinkshaming asshole for a few paragraphs. Just freakin' admit you liked it too, you little shit. 
> 
> Also, do not try this at home. In reality, eating a lot after you haven't eaten in a long time is very, very bad. You're supposed to eat just a small bit every so often, to get your stomach used to holding food again. But this is fantasy, and I don't have to conform to real life health and anatomy, haha. 
> 
> I'll admit that the setup for this is kind of weird and a little rushed, but I desperately wanted to get this crazy ball rolling. Hopefully, there isn't anything weird with the formatting, because AO3 messed it all up when I pasted it in and I had to go through and re-format it all. 
> 
> Enjoy this weird Saiouma feeding fic that no one asked for, but you're getting anyway!

Chapter 1: To Heal

\---

  
Shuichi Saihara had yet to uncover all the mysteries of this so-called school...but if there was one thing he knew for certain, it was that reality television royally sucked.

  
Thus far, on this "Love Across the Universe" show, he'd been pushed into awkward situations with Kaede, bombarded with personal questions, and prodded into developing a gambling addiction. Only three days had passed since the sixteen ultimate students had been trapped in this place and told they had to fall in love in order to escape...or else they'd have to play some sort of crazy killing game instead. Only three days...yet it felt like more than a week. The six robotic bears were constantly making sure the students were doing something "entertaining" for the audience, whether that was getting into petty fights or posing in sexually suggestive ways.

  
It was frankly exhausting...though Shuichi had to admit that it was strangely helping him get acquainted with everyone rather quickly. He already trusted them enough to stop wearing his hat around them, and though he'd only met them three days ago, he inexplicably felt as if he'd known them for a lot longer.

  
As soon as he'd fallen out of that locker, he'd taken a shine to Kaede. Her kind smile, her assertive confidence...with her support, it hadn't taken him long to calm down and open up. Talking with her always soothed him and made him feel at ease. He has this wonderful feeling, that everything would be fine, as long as they were together.

Unfortunately, the tiny multicolored Monokubs had decided that meant they were _meant to be_ , and had done their best, from trying to shove Shuichi onto her, to raining flower petals on them, and even trying to sneak some pieces of Kaede's underwear into Shuichi's pocket. Honestly...as of yet, Shuichi only thought of her as a best friend. He loved her...but not really in a romantic way. Though...he didn't know what sort of feelings she had for him, and it made him a little bit nervous. Nevertheless, he enjoyed hanging around with her the most of all. 

Throughout their days together, Shuichi had gotten to know the other students pretty well: Rantaro, mysterious, yet calm, collected, and very perceptive, not yet privy to his own talent, Gonta, the kindest and sweetest soul, despite his intimidating appearance, Angie, loyal, devoted, and unshakable...

Tsumugi, geeky, down-to-earth, and always grounded, Himiko, a listless daydreamer, except when it came to her magic, Tenko, loud, forceful, and fiercely hateful of men, yet always trying to help in her own way...

Kaito, a truly inspirational, motivating person, brimming with confidence and dreams, Korekiyo, rather creepy, but full of knowledge and love for humanity, K1-B0 or "Kiibo", protective and pure, and surprisingly normal, despite his metal body...

Miu, the brashest and most vulgar of them all, yet covering for a much more demure side, Ryoma, often depressed, regretful, and aloof, but holding a hidden passion still within him, Kirumi, selfless to a fault, authoritative, and a bit motherly, even if she tried to deny it... 

And finally Maki, who had reluctantly revealed her true identity as an assassin after Shuichi had stumbled across her lab before she did. She was prickly and cold on the surface, but as she'd begun to hang out with him and Kaito, she had started to reveal her caring side, little by little. Kaito and Maki were getting quite close, becoming the other "potential couple" the Monokubs targeted for their unhelpful sabotage. 

But...despite how he'd come to know and care for everyone in their group, in their own way...there was still someone Shuichi just couldn't figure out, no matter how hard he tried. Kokichi Ouma, the so-called Ultimate Supreme Leader... Sometimes childish in his appearance and mannerisms, he loved constantly pranking and toying with the others...yet underneath, he'd shown hints of great intelligence and untold information about their confinement here. 

It would be simple to assume he had something to do with this absurd situation, but...at the same time, it was nearly impossible to interpret what he was thinking. Talking to him was like walking in circles, hovering over what he was truly trying to say, but never arriving at it. And Shuichi had a feeling he was doing it on purpose. Kokichi's constant lies served to hide his knowledge and his intentions, but also his own feelings, keeping Shuichi constantly guessing in the meantime. Did he care, or did he not care? Was he trying to help, or get in everyone's way? He wouldn't admit it, but Shuichi had been spending a fair amount of time puzzling over the enigma of the small purple-haired boy, strangely drawn to the mystery and the confusion of it all. He was the Ultimate Detective! He should be able to crack this case! Maybe... 

Kokichi was awfully stubborn about revealing anything, and sometimes, his words made Shuichi want to hug him and slap him at the same time. It was almost like...he didn't want anyone to know him. 

If anything, he seemed one of the most distant in the group. When not at gatherings, he was usually alone. Or chasing after someone who was trying to escape him. Gonta seemed to be able to tolerate him the best, but even then, Kokichi kept his distance from him, insulting him and turning him down every time he invited him anywhere. He appeared to enjoy being with Kiibo, but Kiibo avoided him whenever he got the chance...and that was understandable, since Kokichi only insulted him and made fun of him the entire time. Kaito and Maki couldn't stand the little shit, and Shuichi had actually had to stop them from hurting him on a few occasions. 

Usually, everyone just tried to ignore his annoying jibes. But Shuichi felt a strong, inexplicable urge to...befriend him, even if it seemed impossible. Learn more about him, even if he'd buried himself under ten layers of contradictions. And if he couldn't find anything out by talking to him, he could at least use the power of observation. 

Darkness began to fall on day four, and at their nightly dinner gathering, Shuichi's eyes followed Kokichi as closely as they could. He was acting like his usual self--relentlessly taunting and tormenting Kiibo, trading innapropriate jokes with Miu, dodging Gonta's innocent questions, and just generally being an annoying brat. But as the night wore on, Shuichi began to notice a few little things that he definitely hadn't seen before...and an uncomfortable feeling was growing inside his chest. 

He was finding it hard to believe, but the longer he watched, the more sure he felt. It was so subtle, no one else would have ever noticed...but Shuichi could see it when he ran, when he jumped up, when he crossed his legs, when he quickly moved his arms... Something was physically different about Kokichi...compared to how he looked when they had first arrived at this place...his clothing was _looser_. It looked slightly _bigger_ on him, more empty folds and creases appearing as he moved, more excess fabric puckering at his waist when he sat down. 

This could only mean one thing--Kokichi had lost weight. And he'd already been quite thin to begin with. When he paid attention, Shuichi could see it in his face, too--it was just a bit more angular...less soft and smooth. If that skin got any tighter, his cheekbones would be showing. No one else would ever notice a thing like that...and he hid it very well. His entire collarbone and chest area were covered by his bandanna, after all. But _why_? Was he sick? Had something happened to his body? And that was when Shuichi made his other critical observation. 

Kokichi _wasn't eating_. Eventually, he downed a small bottle of soda, but not once throughout the whole night did a piece of food pass his lips. For tonight's dinner, Kirumi had made curry, fried rice, and smoked salmon, with a salad on the side, and tiramisu for dessert. But even when he was offered a little cup of the tiramisu, Kokichi refused to eat a single bite. He cleverly deflected attention away from himself by teasing anyone who tried to interact with him, and playing with other people's food, mashing Himiko's lettuce into her curry, or cackling as he flung tiny bits of rice at Kiibo. It was perfectly effective. Kirumi would normally notice someone neglecting her food, but she was too fed up with him destroying the composition to really care what else he did. 

What was going on?! It was just so hard to believe that Kokichi Ouma, of all people, had some sort of eating disorder. But as Shuichi searched his current memories, he desperately tried to recall if he'd ever seen him eat anything before...and he couldn't remember, exactly. It was possible that he hadn't even eaten anything besides liquids since day one. But...he'd never admit it, if he tried to confront him about it. He'd just talk in circles and deflect any questions with lies and suspicions, as usual. 

Maybe it was something stress-related? But what could the cocky little trickster possibly have to stress over? Sure, everyone was bothered by being locked up and forced to participate in some dating show...but Kokichi had never seemed upset by it. He never seemed to care about anyone or anything, really... It was likely he wouldn't escape, since he definitely wasn't finding any sort of true love here, but... 

"Hey, Kaede?" Shuichi decided to ask his best friend, beside him. The blonde girl had just finished the last of her salmon, and she looked to him with soft, questioning eyes, her antenna bouncing just a bit. 

"Hm? What is it?" 

"Um...is it just me, or... Do you think Kokichi looks kind of skinnier than he did before?" 

"Huh? Kokichi?" Her face slightly scrunched in confusion, as if shocked that Shuichi would even consider him for a moment. She quickly glanced in his direction, across the table. Currently, he was trying to skewer a piece of salmon on Kiibo's antenna, to the robot boy's distress. 

"Um... He's always been that skinny, hasn't he? He's just tiny. Doesn't stop him from being a _huge_ pain in the butt, though." 

"Huh..." He shouldn't be surprised--this only confirmed his suspicions that nobody else had noticed. His strategies of covering it up were working. "I'm just...concerned about him, you know?" Shuichi attempted to explain his question. 

"Mmm." Kaede took a quick sip of water and frowned in contemplation. "I know what you mean, but..." Her hands folded tightly over her note-dotted skirt. "He just refuses to be a part of us, no matter what we do. He just keeps saying terrible things and lying to our faces. Ryoma and Maki were loners, too, when we first arrived, but they're coming around. Kokichi...I really don't think he's ever going to change, and though I hate to say it, I've...given up on him at this point." 

"Mm. I understand." Shuichi brought a thoughtful fist to his chin. True, Kokichi never would change...but that didn't mean it was hopeless to try to reach him at all. It didn't mean it was impossible to find his inner heart and form _some_ sort of bond with him. Right now...an awful, disturbed feeling in the pits of Shuichi's stomach told him that if he didn't try to reach Kokichi now...something terrible could happen. He wasn't going to let him hurt anybody...including himself. 

Kaede sighed. "Just...please, don't get yourself into trouble trying to talk to him. He's dangerous, Shuichi. Remember when he said he was disappointed that the killing game was cancelled?" 

"Yeah." _Who says he wasn't lying about that, though?_ Shuichi decided not to share that doubt with her. "I'll be really careful around him, I promise." 

Shuichi quickly finished his own dinner, glancing at Kokichi, who had since changed targets and was now bothering Kaito with vague threats. 

No matter what, he'd made up his mind... He had no idea how he was going to even try, but... He had to make an effort...no, he _had_ to confront Kokichi. There was no way he could sit by and watch this, no matter how horrible a person he could potentially be. No matter what--even if he hated him, even if he fought him, even if he made the rest of his time here a living hell...he wouldn't stand aside and watch him suffer. At his core...that was just the kind of person Shuichi was. 

Kaede re-engaged him in a comfortable conversation about some of her past piano recitals as dinner was winding down and Kirumi was beginning to clean up. It soothed his worried heart for the time being...and he readily shared his own experiences with her. And in the end, it strengthened his resolve. 

He would have to somehow catch Kokichi alone...but that wouldn't be too hard. _Just do it. Do something. Stop this. You can do it._

One glance over at Kaito's clenched fist, next to Kokichi's pallid, cackling face solidified it all. It was possible. Anything was possible... Kaede might have given up, but... Shuichi refused to. It was what his heart told him--a separate entity from his rational brain. And he'd decided to listen.

\---

A cold veil of darkness had fallen over the campus, giving everything an anxious feeling of the unknown. It dug into Shuichi's chest, making his courage waver just a tad. This was normally when he would abscond to the casino, feeding casino coins into the various machines and playing games until he'd won enough to afford a premium gift. It distracted him just enough to take the edge off his worries, so he could collapse into bed at 11PM, take a few minutes to collect his thoughts, then drift into a relatively fitful sleep. But not tonight. And maybe not ever again. 

The nighttime announcements had already played, and everyone was straggling back to the dorms. Shuichi mentally counted each person who entered into the circular building, making sure they would stay in place. Sometimes, Kaito and Maki liked to meet up at the trellis, but last night, they hadn't, so...this could possibly work. 

"Are you sure...?" Shuichi snapped back into the present when he heard Kaede's voice beside him. That's right--he was walking back to the dorms with her, but he'd already told her... "Your rest is important, you know. You can't do any detective work while sleep-deprived." 

"I-I know." Shuichi awkwardly reached up to scratch his scalp. "But there are just a few things I want to check, while everyone else is sleeping, so I won't be distracted or anything. Don't worry--I'll get in bed before midnight." 

"And you still won't let me come with you, huh?" Kaede puffed her cheeks slightly. "Stubborn. What if something happens to you...?!" 

"It won't. I promise. And...I'm sorry. But I need to be alone for a bit." 

Finally, she relented, giving a frustrated sigh. "Fine... But you had better tell me everything tomorrow morning." 

"Yes. I will." The lie felt bitter in the back of his throat. _Please forgive me, Kaede. It's not that I don't trust you. But you care too much about me. I don't trust you to not stop me._

The two exchanged fond "good night"s, and Shuichi watched Kaede walk off to the dorm with a twinge of regret. He'd love to let her in on his plan, but...she would get in the way. She'd already given up, after all. 

Now...all that was left was to wait. Shuichi sat down on a bench near the trellis, keeping the dorm in view. Everyone had passed though its front doors, including him. But he had this strong hunch... He wasn't sure exactly where it came from but... 

_He does things when we're not watching. He's doing a lot of things in secret. And the only time he'd be sure to avoid everyone...has to be the middle of the night._ It was just a crazy guess, but he'd have to bet on it. A different sort of gamble was being played tonight...and he had to win. 

10:30...nothing so far... Shuichi went over what he would say, trying uselessly to anticipate his response. There was no such thing as anticipating with him. 10:45... Shuichi checked his watch every minute, trying to push back the anxiety that was threatening his windpipe. He needed to be calm, stubborn, firm, unrelenting... He needed to keep his composure, no matter what. And then... 

Five minutes of eleven, a quiet _clack_ echoed across the yard, and Shuichi's eyes immediately focused. Someone was coming out of the dorms...and there was no mistaking that small stature and white costume glinting in the false moonlight. Kokichi. 

Shuichi got to his feet and stepped down from the platform. And, of course, he immediately noticed. Kokichi had only taken a couple of steps, but he froze in place, for a split second looking genuinely shocked. "Shuichi? What are _you_ doing out here, huh? Having some fun with yourself?" 

Shuichi moved closer, and Kokichi regained his regular demeanor, flashing him a toothy, teasing smile. That grin was painfully obnoxious, and in any other circumstance, Shuichi might've just ignored him and walked away. But no...he couldn't let him deter him. And there was no doubt he was intentionally trying to discourage further discussion. 

"...I need to talk to you, Kokichi. While we're alone." 

"Ooooooooooo!" Kokichi chirped, far too loudly. "Have you come to confess your undying love for me, Shuichi? Or perhaps you want to beg me to spare your life? Either way, it's tooooo late!" 

"Kokichi." Shuichi put a hard edge into his voice, though he knew it was entirely lost on the smaller boy, who was still tucking his arms behind his head without an apparent care in the world. "Come on. This way." 

He beckoned towards the clump of grass and weeds next to the dorm. They needed to be out of the way, just in case, by some coincidence, someone else came out of the dorm. 

Kokichi was surprisingly obedient, and all but skipped after him into the brush, cheeky smile still plastered over his face. "This is my first secret nighttime confession! How exciting! I bet the viewers are eating this up!" 

"Kokichi." Shuichi repeated, trying to get him to take this just a little bit more seriously. "I have something to say." 

"Nyeehee! Go on, go on..." 

"I was watching you at dinner tonight, and--" 

"Wow, I never pegged you as the stalker type--" 

"--I noticed something that needs to be addressed." Shuichi plowed straight through his voice, refusing to let him get a word in to derail this conversation. It was best to simply ignore his taunting and teasing, pushing through to the heart of the matter. At least, that was how he'd decided to deal with him. He'd force him to face this, even if he didn't want to, even if he pushed back just as fiercely. 

At last, Kokichi let out an exaggerated sigh, dropping his arms and rolling his eyes. "We've already been over this a million times, Shuichi. You're so terribly boring and predictable." 

_What is he on about now?_ Shuichi mentally prepared himself for whatever he was going to pull out next. 

His expression suddenly switched into a small, relieved smile, one hand gently resting on his bandanna, near his heart. "Well...I suppose if you're going to be so insistent about it, I guess I can't help it." He gave an innocent-looking smile, one that would normally make anyone believe him...because it was just so damn cute. 

_It's not cute_ , Shuichi berated himself for letting that thought cross his mind. 

"Alright, alright... I'll try my hardest to get along with everyone and be friends, alright? It's going to be different from now on. No more messing with people and getting them all upset and stuff." 

God, if only that were true... 

"No." Shuichi clenched one fist at his side. "It's not about that. It's about something completely different. I honestly don't care if you get along with everyone or not." 

"Reeeeally?" Kokichi tilted his head a little and looked up at him with wide, questioning eyes. "I find that hard to believe. But whatever. That was totally a lie anyway." 

Shuichi ignored his bait, stubbornly pressing forward. He would have to just say it--see how he reacted. He was going to deny it, of course, but...did he even know that he'd noticed? Hopefully, he'd be able to find out. 

"Kokichi...you haven't been eating, have you? You've lost weight. You're starving yourself. I can tell. Why is that?" 

Kokichi's soft purple eyes gently blinked...then immediately resumed their playful shine. "Nyeeheehee! You say some really weird things, you know." 

"So you're denying it?" 

"Not necessarily." He tapped a finger at the edge of his chin. "But I wanna know _why_ you think that. However did you reach that crazy conclusion, oh mighty Ultimate Detective?" 

Though Shuichi was beginning to feel the pangs of a headache starting up in the back of his skull, he forced himself to ignore the jibe. "First of all--you never even touched any of Kirumi's food tonight. You only drank a bottle of soda. And second--well, just look at yourself! If your clothes got any looser, they'd be falling right off." 

"Oh, you'd like that, wouldn't you?" 

"This isn't a joke!" Regrettably, Shuichi was losing a bit of his composure. Kokichi's blasé attitude about the whole thing was starting to wear at him. "I'm really, truly worried about you, you know?" 

"Pff," Kokichi looked away, suddenly very interested in his fingernails. "There are literally hundreds of more important things you should be worried about, rather than the state of my diet. You need to be figuring out a way to get us all out of here. Be an actual detective for once, instead of playing therapist. I'm really disappointed in you." 

Shuichi bit his lip. It was probably just something he'd said to get under his skin and make him leave him alone...but he couldn't deny that there was a grain of truth in that statement. There was a lot of things he still needed to look into--mysteries about this school, or whatever this was, left unsolved as of yet. But one part of his statement was definitely incorrect... 

"No, that's wrong!" The objection burst from Shuichi's mouth as soon as his heart asserted it. "Your health and well-being isn't 'less important', Kokichi. I want to get everyone out of here. I want us all to survive, unharmed. And that includes you too. You might find this hard to believe, because you don't care about anything, but...but I care about you." 

For an incredible second, Kokichi had no reply. For one moment, suspended in time, his eyes were just pure pools of blank softness. Unknowable, yet calm and strangely vacant. And it were the breif moments like these that had Shuichi convinced there was more to him... Something was there, besides just simple malice. Unfortunately, it didn't last very long. 

"Okay..." Kokichi spoke, glancing away. His voice was low, but Shuichi could pick up a tiny lilt in it. "I'll tell you. You found me out, so...I won't be able to hide it much longer..."   
Shuichi subconsciously held his breath. Was this serious? He was concentrating all his efforts into trying to read between his words. 

"I..." Kokichi grasped his forearms, not meeting his eyes, his forehead pinching with apparent worry. "I have...anorexia!" 

Something about the tone of his voice was weird. 

"I can't help it...the thought of eating makes me feel sick. I _must_ keep my perfect, slim figure. What kind of supreme leader would I be if I turned into a big, fat blob? No one would ever take me seriously. I hate the thought of gross fat cells forming on my body, and...oh no! Now I'm thinking about it!" 

Kokichi began to shudder...and Shuichi formed a deep scowl. He didn't want to have to cast doubt on something like this, but...this was just too dramatic a confession to be the truth. 

"It's really disgusting of you to lie about having a serious illness." 

"Huh? Lie?" Kokichi's shivering halted, and he stood up straight, giving him a questioning stare. "Even I wouldn't lie about something like that, you know." 

_Yes. Yes, you would. You'd pull out whatever stops you had to protect yourself and whatever secrets you're holding._ Maybe Shuichi really was getting better at reading him. 

Kokichi twisted his face into a pained, emotionally tormented expression that was very nearly convincing. "How...how could you not believe me, dear Shuichi? It took so much for me to reveal my terrible secret to you..." 

"Kokichi, please..." 

"Please _what_? I'm baring my _soul_ to you over here, and yet..." 

"You would never bare your soul to anyone, let's be real here." 

"......Ah. Yeah, I suppose not." Kokichi finally gave it up, breaking into his usual cheeky smile. "You're too good, Shuichi. I can't have any fun with you." 

Shuichi heaved a sigh. Trying to get _anything_ out of him was like pulling teeth...except the teeth would get sucked back in and you'd have to pull them all over again. "I just want to help you," he insisted. "I promise, I only want to make sure you're okay, Kokichi. Please. Tell me what's really going on." 

"I already _tooooold_ you!" Kokichi put on his whiny, insistent tone. "I've got anorexia! It's a serious problem! Orrrr maybe not! Who knows, huh? But that's totally what you thought it was, wasn't it? So maybe it really is true!" 

Shuichi just wanted to smack him. He wanted to just give up and leave in an angry huff. But that was exactly what Kokichi wanted, so he wasn't going to let him win. This method clearly wasn't going to work, so...he'd have to push himself...try something a little unorthodox, a little risky, even. 

Quickly, and without warning, Shuichi shot his arm forward, grasping Kokichi's wrist and holding fast. It worked. His façade dropped, revealing a genuine expression of shock. 

"Wh-What?!" 

"Kokichi." Shuichi spoke his name with gentle resolution. It was even worse than he'd thought. A shiver went up his spine, though it didn't show in his body. "Wow. Your wrist is so thin... I'm not very strong, yet I feel like I would be able to just snap it apart." 

It actually took a second for Kokichi to compose himself...but when he did, he began to snicker. "Nyeeheehee... Is that a _threat_ , Shuichi?" 

"No. Of course not." His voice was dangerously close to stuttering...holding this tiny wrist in his hand had reminded him of just how serious this was. "Why is it...so hard for you to understand that I'm actually worried about you?" 

Kokichi only frowned and shrugged his bony shoulders. "Oh, I believe you. But you're wasting your time. You're a boring idiot." 

"I'm not wasting my time...especially..." 

Shuichi steeled himself against what he was about to say. It had come down to this, after all. But if he had to use this strategy, he had to use it, as much as it made him feel uneasy. A plan had been forming in Shuichi's mind throughout the night, a plan to put an end to this, if all else failed. He'd hoped not to have to use it, but...Kokichi was being way too stubborn. He was going to have to do it. He would play along with Kokichi's mind games. To help him, to save him, he could do it...he could be dishonest, too. 

With a bit of a yank, he pulled the smaller boy closer, almost intimately. And he spoke in a low, grave tone. "...Because. I need you." 

Kokichi's face went blank for a second again, before morphing back into a thin smirk, eyes narrowing like a snake. "Oooh. What's this now?" 

"I need you...as a part of my plan. And I need you alive for now, okay?"   
Kokichi lifted his other arm, cupping the hand that was clenched around his wrist. "Tell me more..." 

"I can't right now." Shuichi steadied his heart against this lie. No doubt, Kokichi would see through it eventually...but for now, he just needed to set this up. "That's why I needed to speak to you alone. The whole conversation before this was just a cover. And we can't discuss it any further here." 

Shuichi lowered his voice into a whisper. "Tomorrow night. 10:30. I need you to meet me at my room." The effect was rather convincing, if he thought so himself. "I'm certain it will make things much more interesting around here." 

"Really?" Kokichi's eyes squeezed narrower, leering up into Shuichi's face with that chilling expression of his. "I wouldn't have expected this from you, Mr. Detective." His voice was equally low, quiet, and sly. "Unless you're lying right back to me. You've got guts, Shuichi." 

Though his heart was flip-flopping and he felt like breaking into a sweat, Shuichi kept his appearance stoic. He had to. For his sake. "Whether it is or not...you'll have to come and find out, then." 

Finally, he released his wrist, and Kokichi flexed it, letting the blood flow back into his hand. "Alrighty, then... But, if this turns out to be a waste of my time..." The dark, dangerous glare flashed back onto his ghastly white face. "...You'll live to regret it. I'll make sure you _suffer_ in ways you can't even imagine." 

With that, he casually turned his back, giving a jaunty wave. "Welp--bye-bye for now, dear Shuichi! Stay tuned for the thrilling continuation!" And before Shuichi could get in another word, he'd disappeared back into the dorm, apparently abandoning whatever he'd been up to in the first place. 

The world stilled into silence, and Shuichi gently drew in his breath, calming his nerves. What in the world was he getting himself into? Kaede's warning to stay away from him echoed in the back his mind, but he forced it down. Despite his appearance, despite his threatening words...a voice deep inside him was telling him that Kokichi wasn't as dangerous as he made himself appear. Just a hunch...but his other hunch about him had been correct. Why not this one, too...? 

In the depths of night, Shuichi clutched a fist to his heart. _Kokichi...I'm going to save you. Even if you don't want to be saved. I promise...I promise I will never give up on you._

He had to get to bed...there was a lot to do tomorrow if he wanted to pull this off, after all. But for a moment, Shuichi stood in the silence of the still courtyard, letting his feelings wash over him and fill him with resolution. His courage, given to him by his closest friends, those he loved, despite only knowing them for a few days... He thanked them from his very soul... 

Pinpricks of glowing stars shone down on him from above...and even if they turned out to be fake, he prayed to them. For his continued strength...and for the life of his small purple-haired friend.

\---

As soon as Shuichi had showered and dressed, he took a full, careful inventory of his room. Table, closet, desk and chair, empty bookshelf, a few drawers... Hm...he could possibly work with this. First, he had to develop a method of locking the door from the inside. He might need a few extra supplies, but it could be done. The shelves would be useful...the desk and chair essential. 

A part of him felt _dirty_ for planning something behind someone's back like this...but it was the only way. If any other options had appeared before him, he would've already taken them. He shouldn't feel bad, and he had to keep telling himself that. 

First of all, he had to get to the dining hall posthaste. Otherwise, waking up this early would be entirely wasted. With ideas swirling through his mind, Shuichi made his way there, using the back entrance, and making sure he didn't run into anyone else on the way. The only one up this early...was precisely the person he needed to talk to. 

She wasn't in the dining room, but that was to be expected. After all, she was in the kitchen, cooking up today's breakfast. Warm, delectable scents wafted by Shuichi's nose as he poked himself through the kitchen doors. "...Kirumi?" 

"Oh. Good morning, Shuichi." The Ultimate Maid turned her head, gray bang shifting past her eye. "You're up early today." 

"Y-Yes. I, um...I have a request... It's kind of unusual, but..." 

"I will be happy to fulfill any request you may have, Shuichi. It is not my place to judge." Kirumi gave him a serene smile, though her arms flipped pancakes on the stove, stirred a pot, and adjusted the temperature on a seperate stove at the same time, all without skipping a beat. She was frightfully skilled at times... 

"Um...I'd like you to teach me to...cook a few things." 

"Certainly. Just give me moment..." 

"Oh, but not right now! I mean, after breakfast! I...want to wait until after breakfast." Shuichi had to phrase it correctly, or else Kirumi would insist that he wasn't bothering her and try to do it right now. 

"Very well." With one last bright smile, she turned around again, focusing on her various cooking tasks. "I will be delighted to teach you to cook, Shuichi. Meet me back here in the kitchen once breakfast has concluded, then." 

"Yes. Thank you very much, Kirumi. I'll you see you then." Shuichi pulled away, quickly trying to rub out the blush he was sure was forming on his face. 

As he'd thought about it last night, he'd decided... He could easily just ask Kirumi to make all the food he needed...but he wanted to create it himself. Yet, he couldn't even figure out why. It made no rational sense...but he just...wanted to. He realized that it was sort of unlike him to do something just because he wanted to... But, why not? There was no reason not to either. In fact, he might better be able to explain it away... 

In a few short moments, the earlier risers--Gonta, Kaito, Angie, Maki--made their way into the dining hall. Tenko was probably awake, too, but she usually waited for Himiko. They all commented on Shuichi's presence, but he waved it off by saying he'd had a hard time sleeping last night. 

Kaede arrived, immediately asking him about his night...and the rest of the students began to trickle in after her. Awkwardly, Shuichi made up something about re-checking the library, but being unable to find any clues hidden in the books. Naturally, Kaede still seemed concerned, but she bought it well enough, deciding not to pester him about it, for which he was very thankful. 

Everyone sat down to breakfast...and Kokichi was nowhere to be found. It wasn't terribly surprising, but...Shuichi found himself worrying a little bit anyway. Five days surviving on nothing but soda and chewing gum...it was incredible that he hadn't actually passed out already... Unless he had, and no one knew about it. Shuichi really didn't like to think of that possibility. 

Kirumi's lesson afterward went smoothly and easily. Her directions were precise and detailed, her examples flawless. Though Shuichi doubted he could produce the same results she had, he was confident he could remember all the steps. 

Afterwards, he'd promised to spend some time with Kaede in her lab. Day five passed just as easily and comfortably as the previous four. Naturally, there were a few interruptions from Monokid, who'd purposely tried to plow Kaede over, so that Shuichi would catch her...and Monophanie, who had sat in the corner and made gross kissy faces at them for almost an hour. 

They investigated a few more places together, to no avail. For a little while, they joined Kaito, Maki, Gonta, and Ryoma for a picnic lunch. The whole day, Shuichi only thought he saw Kokichi once--just a flash of white, running away from a peeved Miu and Kiibo. 

Though he smiled and kept up conversation, the distracting thoughts were still eating at his insides. Nighttime...nighttime was steadily approaching. And everything needed to be perfect. 

As soon as he got a break from the others, Shuichi slipped into the warehouse, packing up the supplies he needed and stealing them back to his room. Closer...just a little closer... He was nervous, but at the same time, proud. The cycle would end...the cycle would end now. And he'd decided to end it, no matter what. 

\---

Five minutes of ten. Everything was set in place. He'd tested the door trick earlier to make sure it worked. He'd meditated and tried to steel his mind against distractions. He'd set out the paper towel, the chopsticks, the spoon, the drinking glass. The warming plates were running. 

Composing himself once more, Shuichi drew in a slow, deep, empowering breath. _Okay. Now...all that's left...is to wait._

_Clink...clickclick...cl-inkclink..._ A soft metallic noise suddenly scratched at the inside of Shuichi's ears. _Click...clnk..._

With a heavy thump of his heart, he realized what it must be, and rushed to the door. _Of course._ Leave it to Kokichi to throw a wrench into his perfect setup. But it was okay...it was going to be okay...he could still pull this off. Shuichi swiftly reassured himself...and yanked his door open as far as it would go at the moment. 

"Ah... Hello, Shuichi." Kokichi grinned up at him from his crouched position near the doorknob. In a blink, he stashed the long metal needle he'd been holding in the bottom of his pants leg. _So, that's where he keeps them...that strap thing is probably meant to keep them in place._

"Nyeehee. I thought I'd drop in early and surprise you. But you had to go and ruin it all. Aw, maaaan..." 

Shuichi stared down at him. Rather than feel annoyed or worried at his attempt to foil his plans, he just felt...pain. He hadn't thought it possible, but...Kokichi looked even worse off than before. His skin was a ghostly, unreal white. Tiny indentations were starting to form on his cheeks. It was almost terrifying. 

He stood up on spindly toothpick legs...and hopped right on into the room, despite looking ready to collapse. Of course. He'd gone another day without sufficient nourishment again... 

"Oh, wow, so this is Shuichi's room!" The malnourished boy rocked back and forth on his heels, and it was a small miracle he didn't topple right over. "How utterly plain and dull. You should at least bring your pretty little poison bottles in here." 

"I like it this way." Shuichi let the cool, smooth door handle slip from his hand, leaving the door to click shut. _Almost..._

Kokichi took just one more step towards the center of the room, and... 

_Shnnnk! Clackclackclackclack!!_

He whirled around at the sound, his eyes widening into dark pools...and then, they compressed into near slits. 

_Yes. Thank God. It worked. Okay. Good._

Shuichi had set a trap on the door... As soon as someone stepped past a certain point, the small security sensor attached to the wall would pick them up...and send a signal to the automatic winches across the door, shooting two thick chains in an X pattern and tightening them in place. Now, the only way to release them would be with the remote that Shuichi had hidden away in one of his drawers...but Kokichi didn't know that. They had been monstrously heavy, and Shuichi had nearly killed himself lugging them all the way here and lifting them into position...but, now, all of his efforts had paid off. And that angry, menacing look on Kokichi's face was both worrisome and immensely satisfying. 

".................Well." It was taking him a moment to form the words he wanted. "What's the meaning of _this_ , Shuichi? Did you really mean to...trick me? How bold...and how foolish of you." 

And now, he had to deal with the consequences. He was now trapped in a room with Kokichi Ouma. 

Shuichi shrugged, trying to appear unconcerned. "It was the only way I could make you stay." 

"I have to admit, I thought you might have prepared some sort of trap. But it seems I underestimated you. I didn't think you had it in you." 

"You thought it might be a trap, and yet you still came?" 

"Naturally. Call it...personal curiosity." Kokichi lifted a finger to his mouth. "Now I know just what you _are_ capable of." 

Shuichi clenched his teeth behind his lips. He'd hoped to bait him out...he needed to be sure Kokichi hadn't brought any sort of weapons concealed in his loose clothing. 

"But...if this turns out to be just a big waste of my time, then..." Kokichi's face squeezed into a truly twisted, malicious expression, his eyes almost crossing as they narrowed, his smile becoming a thin, wide, creepy crescent. "...I'll destroy you, Saihara. Maybe not tonight, but I swear, I _will_ kill you." 

That look...that face...Shuichi had to admit, it sort of frightened him. But at least now...he knew the answer. "Not tonight"...it meant that tonight, he _couldn't_. He hadn't brought any weapons with him. That was surprisingly short-sighted of him, Shuichi thought. _And short-sighted of me, too. I should have been prepared for_ him _to come prepared._ But, thankfully, they'd both failed in that respect. 

Shuichi refused to let the uneasiness show on his face, keeping his fists clenched at his sides. And it seemed Kokichi was already bored with his lack of reaction. 

"Sooooo..." He turned away, striding confidently into the center of the room. "What are you going to do with me now that you've got me prisoner? Was all that about a secret plan just a lie...?" He shot another baleful look over his shoulder...though it wasn't quite as powerful as the first. It was more like...he was evaluating him...sizing him up for...something. 

"Not necessarily." Shuichi had already thought of how he would spin this. "I do indeed have a secret plan...though it might not be whatever you're imagining." 

Kokichi sighed, flicking one of his longer strands of hair. "This had better not be something stupid, Shuichi, or..." 

"Take a seat." Before he could finish, Shuichi pulled out the desk chair, gesturing towards it. "Don't worry, it's not booby trapped or anything. And we'll talk this out." 

Kokichi kept a frown and a suspicious glare fixed on him...but he actually did sit down without a fuss. 

And then...Shuichi sprang into action. Quick as he could without spilling anything over, he grabbed the ramen bowl from his shelf...then the napkins, the chopsticks, the glass of chilled soda... Expertly, he placed everything on the desk before the disgruntled Kokichi and plopped into a sitting position on the edge of his bed. A tiny smile grazed his lips, while Kokichi just looked incredibly frustrated. 

"...So my suspicions were correct. You _are_ just being a horribly boring waste of my time." 

"No. Not at all." Shuichi crossed his legs, fixing him with a determined look. "I just want you to eat. That's all you have to do. And then you can leave." 

"Welp, good-bye, then." Kokichi leapt back to his feet, his legs trembling just a bit as they struggled to hold him up. He banged opened the desk's drawers, quickly sifting through them. "You gotta have some kind of device that undoes that chain in here...otherwise _you_ wouldn't be able to get out, either. So I'm not letting you waste any more of my time with this shit." 

"Kokichi." Shuichi's firm voice stopped him before he could walk across the room to start checking more drawers. "Why do you keep saying it's a waste of time? I don't know what's so important that you need to get done, but...isn't it _more_ of a waste of time if you pass out or make yourself sick from undernourishment? You won't be able to do _anything_ that way. Taking care of your own body isn't a waste of time--it ensures you have _enough_ time to do everything you need." 

"Tch." 

Shuichi knew...saying that he cared about him, that he was worried about him, wouldn't work. The only thing that worked on Kokichi was pure logic. "You'll have more energy. You'll be able to do things faster. It only makes sense..." 

A moment of awkward silence. But neither of them moved. 

"... _Fine_. Fine. Whatever. I'll do it." Kokichi threw himself back into the chair with a huff. "Just don't expect some sort of charitable friendship reward after this." 

Shuichi felt a part of his chest clench as the smaller boy carefully picked up the chopsticks, then paused for a moment, staring into the bowl. "It's chicken," he explained. "With salt. And a little bit of spice." Because he'd had a weird hunch that Kokichi didn't like pork, for some reason. Why did he even know these things? It was like he just _knew_ from looking at him. 

Kokichi gave him a quick glance and a nod, almost as if confirming his assumptions. And then...to his happiness and relief...he started to slowly nibble at the noodles all by himself. Just tiny bites, as he held the chopsticks to his mouth, taking twice the amount of time anyone else would...but still. It was all right. Kokichi was going to be okay. Kokichi was eating, albeit little by little... _Some_ food was getting into him. The cycle of starvation was over. And Shuichi was so glad, he just wished he could hug him. 

He settled himself back on the bed, trying not to stare too much and make him nervous...he had to do everything to make sure he didn't _stop_ now. He pulled a book out from under his bed and started to half-read it, the other half listening intensely to the barely-audible slurps. 

"Is this Kirumi's?" Kokichi asked, after a moment. 

"Um..." Shuichi had to bury his face in his book, because he felt the heat flickering at his cheeks. "Actually, uh...I made it." 

"Ah. Yup. That explains it." 

Jumbled words swam before Shuichi's eyes as he willfully ignored him. No, he wasn't going to ask what that meant...since he feared the following line would be "That explains why it tastes like such shit". And whether it was a lie or not, he didn't want to hear it. 

The first several bites were agonizingly slow--after all, his stomach had to slowly get used to having food inside it again. But eventually, Kokichi's natural hunger finally kicked in, and he started eating at an almost normal pace. Elegantly lifting small pieces of chicken and bean sprouts with the chopsticks and popping then into his small mouth...munching with lips pressed together. The frustrated face he'd worn earlier had melted into something not quite happy but not quite upset either. Somehow...he was being comforted. Having actual food inside him at last was soothing his body...as much as he might not realize it. 

After swallowing a large bite, Kokichi broke the silence again. "So...this is it? You're not gonna try to force information out of me?" 

"I truly don't care," Shuichi easily answered, still avoiding his eyes. "You don't have to tell me anything. I don't even need to know the reason you did this to yourself. My only wish, my only objective is...for you to get better, Kokichi." Shuichi wasn't even sure himself why he cared so much...but he _did_. Something deep in his heart was telling him...he had to get to know him better. He had to protect him, stop whatever madness was coming to him...before it was too late. 

Kokichi paused, biting his lip...then gave an exaggerated sigh. "Awww. And I was hoping to get an extra special interrogation session from the Ultimate Detective himself." He snickered to himself and carefully ate another little bundle of meat. "I wanna see you just try to break me." 

"I don't want to break you," Shuichi told him, though he was sure it had just been a joke. "If I want information from you...I want you to give it to me of your own volition." 

"What if I've done something _terrrrrribly_ evil, though? There's no way I'd ever tell you about that, no matter how you try to butter me up." 

The thought dawned on him at that same moment. With solid determination, Shuichi set his book aside, slid himself up to the edge of the bed...and looked straight into Kokichi's face. Right now...he _needed_ the eye contact. He _needed_ him to feel the sincerity in his words, force him to face it. The deep purple eyes were still glimmering with mischief, but the more he fixed them in place, the more they seemed to solidify. 

"I'm not just being kind to you because I want your information. I want to know more about you, sure, but it's not only because of some ulterior motive." 

Kokichi scowled mid-chew. 

"...I don't have any concrete way of proving it, and I know you won't believe me without solid evidence, though. I'm the same way. I wouldn't believe me either. But it's the truth, and that's all I can say." 

"Shuichi, the more you talk, the less sense you make." 

"Eheh...maybe." 

"Though I do wonder...how you became so _assertive_. Four days ago, you were an anxious mess. That sure is a rapid increase in confidence...perhaps over-confidence." 

Automatically, he opened his mouth to explain--how much Kaede and Kaito had helped him, how differently he saw things now, how much he'd gained just from being with them and taking in their worldviews--but Kokichi made a swift "shut it" motion with his fingers, effectively silencing him. 

"And I don't want to hear some sappy 'power of friendship' speech. Oh no, friendship alone couldn't have done this. It has to be more.......I wonder, hmm..." 

They lapsed into calm silence again, each lost in their own turbulent thoughts. Shuichi remained at the edge of the bed, absently thumbing through the book's pages, and Kokichi continued to slowly work on the ramen. 

Though they probably didn't mean anything, Shuichi couldn't help reflecting on his words. "Friendship alone couldn't have done this"... What could he possibly be referring to? If something else had affected his personal development, he'd definitely know about it. Well, whatever. He'd probably just meant to confuse him. Though it was true...just four days ago, he'd been an entirely different person. Someone who definitely wouldn't have had the courage and self-confidence for any of this. But...he liked who he'd become, who he was still becoming, even though it didn't feel like only four days ago. 

Then, at last, Kokichi set the ramen bowl back down on the desk with a gentle _clink_...and it was empty, save for a tiny pool of broth at the bottom. "There you go--all done!" He took one last sip from the near-empty soda glass and placed his chopsticks down with a flourish. "I can go now, ri--riiiiiiiight?" His sentence trailed off when he noticed Shuichi's movements...and just what he was headed towards. 

Shuichi had noticed, of course... As soon as the bowl seemed almost empty, he'd pushed himself into action once more. Quick as a wink, he was at his side again...and in his hand was a small bowl topped off with fruit--sliced apples and strawberries and green grapes and pineapple wedges. Without batting an eye, he placed it on the desk beside the emptied bowl and slid a tiny plastic cup of caramel fruit dip next to it. "That was your main course. This is the side dish. I didn't say you were done." 

"But I'm not hungry anymore." Kokichi pouted. "That should be good enough, right? You wanted to force me to eat, and you did." 

"No. You can't just eat whatever. You need a well-balanced meal. Not just meat and a bit of veggies." 

"Pft...are you trying to take over Kirumi's job as my mommy, Shuichi? You jealous?" Kokichi leaned back in the chair, glancing past Shuichi's side, a little smile playing at his lips. "I see that cake over there....... I'd be much more inclined to eat some of that if you really wanted to make me eat more." 

Indeed, there was something left on the shelf--a slice of pink and yellow Astro Cake he'd prepared as another part of this meal, as well as the remaining soda in its two-liter bottle. 

"Uh-uh," Shuichi told him, playing along with his tone. "No dessert until you finish your dinner. And that's not up for negotiation." 

"But Mooooooooommm..." 

"If you want to leave the table, you should start on that fruit. It's good for you, you know." 

"If I knock it all on the floor, am I gonna get a spanking, Mommy?" 

".......Alright, no, I can't do this anymore. Just eat up." 

"Awww, Shuichi is no fun. He always backs away just when it's getting interesting." Kokichi displayed a disappointed face, but Shuichi heard him utter a quiet "nyeeheehee" as he carefully sat forward again and began to poke at the fruit bowl. 

Internally, Shuichi breathed a sigh of relief, glad he didn't really have to fight with him to get him to accept it. Maybe the joke roleplay had helped in that respect, though it still made him uncomfortable. 

He moved around the bed to retrieve the soda bottle and refill Kokichi's glass, as the smaller boy pinched an apple slice in his slender fingers and brought it delicately to his mouth. A strange little shiver passed through Shuichi's shoulders and down his sides at the sound of him crunching into the juicy fruit flesh. Why did he... _like_ that sound so much? Why was he listening so closely? Why was part of him feeling...nervously excited? Of course, his heart was celebrating the fact that Kokichi wasn't going to starve anymore, but...there was something more to it than that, and he had no idea what. 

_I want him to eat, but that's because I want to make sure he's healthy...right? I...I don't...just enjoy seeing him eat because...because I think it's attractive or anything. That would be ridiculous. Who thinks watching someone eat is attractive?_

And yet, this time...he really, really didn't want to miss seeing this by burying himself in the book he was barely even reading. There was something...really interesting about observing Kokichi's eating, and he tried to tell himself it was purely a natural, academic curiosity. He'd never seen him eat before at the dining hall, after all... 

He positioned himself at the edge of the bed again, resting the book in his lap...and stealing glances up at him every few seconds. Kokichi was eating slowly and carefully, slipping each small individual fruit piece into him, occasionally with a slight bit of dip on the end. From the tiny smile on his chewing lips, he did seem to be enjoying it to a certain degree. It must taste a little bit better than the ramen bowl, or... Or, maybe, right now, he was eating out of actual pleasure, rather than a desperate survival instinct. Perhaps a little of both. He'd noticed his gaze, of course, and every now and then, he'd glance over at him, flashing a thin little smirk that...wasn't helping the situation. 

Once the bowl was about half-empty, Kokichi reached over and took a deep gulp of soda. Immediately after, he pushed back slightly, and his body convulsed as he stifled a series of quiet belches in one raised fist. 

Shuichi shivered, so powerfully that he feared it was visible this time. _Why...?!_ It was just a few tiny burps. It wasn't disgusting. In fact, it was actually kind of...cute. _But burping isn't cute!_ It was only natural that he would burp after drinking fizzy soda. And...because he was getting full. He had to make a little more room. His tiny, deprived belly didn't have a whole lot of space in it anymore, after all... 

_Why?!_ Shuichi felt sparks jolt through his limbs at the thought, the image, the idea... Kokichi's tiny belly already full...but slowly filling and stretching itself fuller... _What the heck?! Why is that...?! It's not... It's weird!_ Shuichi had to turn his attention back to the book before he started visibly shaking again. But unfortunately for his efforts, it was about to get even worse. 

A few moments later, Kokichi's voice cut through the sounds of his own beating heart. "Hey, hey, Shuichi! Watch this..." 

And as soon as Shuichi gave him his attention...a part of him felt like it was burning to ash. 

Through his devious little smirk, Kokichi had a particularly large, plump chunk of strawberry in his mouth...and when he met Shuichi's eyes, he slowly bit down, letting the sticky reddish juice run down his face, squirting onto his cheeks, and oozing down his neck. With borderline erotic slurping, he gradually sucked in the soft strawberry flesh, heedless of the liquid trailing down from his mouth. And once it was finally gone, he finished by seductively licking his lips, stained pink from the juices. 

Shuichi could feel his chest clenching, his fingers buzzing. Was he trying to act sexy? _Was_ this supposed to be sexy? Did _he_ find it sexy? Why the heck would it be sexy?! This was some sort of teasing, but _what_ and _why_?! And yet, Shuichi found himself...almost aroused. That would be creepy if he was, though...but he wasn't, right? He couldn't be. 

As his turbulent thoughts started to settle, Shuichi suddenly noticed what he was doing. His arm was raised, his body leaning in...reaching for Kokichi. And he just let his instinct take over. 

His fingers gripped the hem of Kokichi's checkered bandanna...and flipped it up, bunching the fabric and using it to wipe at his face, feeling the bumps of his lips, cheeks, and chin underneath. His eyes were curious, studying every nuance of his movement...and perhaps hiding just a hint of surprised nervousness. When Shuichi let it flop back to his chest, it was dyed in streaks of pink over the white squares, but his face was mostly clean, save for a few tiny pink patches near the corners of his mouth. 

Kokichi's widened eyes shifted down to look at it...and then, suddenly, they began to swell with watery tears. 

"Uh..." Feeling awkward and a bit ashamed at what he'd just done, Shuichi retracted, though he still held one hand up in concern. Then... 

"Aaaaaaaaahwaaaa!" The tears burst from Kokichi's eyes, flowing straight into his bandanna and making it even more wet. "How _could_ you?! Why would you _do_ that, Shuichi?! This was my favorite, _favorite_ bandanna, and now it's completely _ruined_!! I don't even think Kirumi could get this out! It'll never come out! Aaaaaaaah!!" 

"Um..." With this display, Shuichi was positive he was faking it, but it was still a little disconcerting, especially since he already felt a bit guilty. Fortunately, his logical brain clicked back on at that moment. "Isn't that bandanna part of your outfit? The Monokubs gave us all several exact copies of our outfits in our wardrobes. Including any accessories, too." 

Kokichi pouted, though his crocodile tears ceased. "Yeah, I may have about twenty-five other bandannas that look exactly the same...but _this_ one was the _best_ one! It was _special_! Maybe." 

Shuichi shook his head and chuckled a tiny bit. Was he already getting used to this? It wasn't as annoying as he usually found it. 

"Nyeehee! You should've seen the look on your face, though!" Kokichi grinned up at him and kicked his legs with merriment. "Oh boy, you looked like you wanted to take me right then and there! It was totally obvious how much you wanted to suck my tender lips and eat out the inside of my mouth! I've never seen such a _lustful_ expression on you, Shuichi. How surprising! I'm a little bit scared." 

"Uh..." Panic immediately began to course through Shuichi's chest. He hadn't really looked like that, had he?! These strange feelings weren't...causing anything like _that_ , were they?! It couldn't be! 

"...Juuust kidding. Though I wouldn't blame you if you had." Kokichi softly snickered. "I can understand how irresistible I am. A lot of people have met their end that way, you know." 

"Uh...sure." Shuichi was struggling to get a hold of his mental faculties. Mostly, he just wanted to melt into the carpet. But somewhere, in the midst of the mushy soup of his brain, an observation reached him. _He's...playing around with me more. I can't stand it, but...but I think that's a good thing. It means he's feeling better now._

"Nyeehee, you're pretty amusing, Shuichi. Almost makes me want to abandon this fruit bowl just so I don't have to leave you. But, that's a lie." Kokichi popped two grapes into his mouth and gave him another little smirk through puffed cheeks. 

_Is this some bizarre form of flirting? What the heck is this, even?_ Shuichi had to calm himself down. Pressing one hand near his heart, he forced a few deep breaths. It worked to a certain degree, and he felt the thumping in his chest gently slow, though there was a certain jumpiness left in his limbs. "Whatever. Just finish up, or we'll be here all night." 

Kokichi quickly chewed and swallowed. "Aww, giving up already? But I wanted to have more fun... _hmmp!_ W-What would you do if I dribbled it all over the rest of my clothes, hmm?" 

"Let you sit there in your own sticky mess and think about what you've done." He'd noticed that...little hiccup that had interrupted Kokichi's words, of course, and he was trying his best to ignore it...or else he'd probably start melting again. 

" _Sticky mess_ , huh? Wow, how vulgar. You're getting just as bad as Miu, Shuichi. And it's all cause you just can't keep it in your pants when it comes to me..." 

"....I'm not even. Just...nevermind." 

"Eehee." Somehow, Kokichi finally returned to eating, and Shuichi plopped back onto his bed, with a deep exhale. 

There was a lot to think about...though he didn't particularly want to think about it all. This was just impossible. What had just transpired was so incomprehensible to him, he couldn't even bear to try to figure it out. Especially not while _he_ was still in the room. 

Time passed. Shuichi flipped pages, Kokichi gradually munched. At last, Shuichi felt that his system was settled, finally recovered from whatever weird shock he'd suffered. Everything was...normal. Time passed. But then... 

"Alright!" Shuichi's head snapped up at the sound...and suddenly, all the excitement, all the tremulous uncertainty came rushing back into him like a busted dam. 

The fruit bowl was empty. The soda glass was empty. Just a tiny bit of dip clung to the inside of the cup. And Kokichi pulled his chair back, leaning back and stretching his legs...and gave his stomach a light slap. "Phew! Man, I'm stuffed! It wasn't half bad, though, Shuichi. Or is that a lie?" 

Shuichi lifted himself back to his feet. He'd done it. He'd really done it. It was amazing, incredible, joyous... He just...needed to... He just...wanted to... But he couldn't... It wasn't...but... 

Kokichi hadn't freaked out when he'd touched him before, though, so...so he could do this. Shuichi convinced himself it was okay--he had to check...though he was still quivering with an emtion and a feeling he couldn't name. It frightened him, it really did...but it also had him completely ensnared in curiosity. He moved in closer, and Kokichi's eyes followed him. More than anything...he wanted to see where this led. 

Subtly trembling, he reached out his hand...and tenderly patted it over Kokichi's stomach. He could sense the smaller boy immediately tense up...but he didn't squirm or slap the hand away. In fact, he lifted his arms to his chin, allowing him access. 

Shuichi's hand connected again, and he carefully moved it around the area. Almost like an affectionate rub--but not really. His insides twisted. Heat rose through his abdomen and straight into his face. He was suddenly lightheaded and he could feel the quaking of his legs. He hadn't a clue what was going on with his body, but there was only one thought, one sensation overwhelming everything else. 

Kokichi's little belly was no longer concave, or even flat. Though it was completely masked by his baggy shirt, there was...a tiny bump there. A very small, slightly bulging mound, filled with nourishment. So full, it had swelled out just a bit...a firm, gentle curve popping outwards a few millimeters. That ramen and fruit...together, it hadn't made for all that big of a meal...but Kokichi's belly was so small, probably shrunken after being deprived for so long, that just this much was enough to fill it to the brim. 

It felt...a little warm, too, as Shuichi gently, softly rubbed around it in a circle, ignoring the bumps of his shirt's buttons. So warm...so full... His own heart was glowing within his chest, and he couldn't stop the smile from showing. "...Y-Yeah. You're all full now. I'm...so glad. Good job, Kokichi." 

Kokichi was staring at him...and he was just barely able to register the look of awe on his face. His skin, his cheeks...were ever so slightly less pale. Very, very light peach... Almost...a flush. His fingers picked at his damp, stained bandanna. This was...incredible. Shuichi softly caressed his tummy once more, and then... 

"Ohhhhhhhhh........I know what you are." 

"What?" 

Kokichi's face darkened. Eyes suspiciously narrowed. That almost-blush was still there, but it was overlaid by his dangerous smile. "I finally get it." His voice was soft, slithering. "I get what this is all about now." 

"Uh..." What was he _talking_ about? He was just messing around again, right? Desperately, Shuichi's eyes began to focus, though his mind was swimming, his body practically Jello. His hand was still resting at the top of Kokichi's belly, and he was suddenly finding it hard to pull away, as if it had been magnetically sucked onto it. 

"I'm...I'm a detective. That's what I am. And...and I wanted to make sure you didn't starve..." 

"Liar." 

That twisted, evil smirk on his face almost made Shuichi shudder. He made to tear himself away, but Kokichi grabbed his wrist, keeping his hand solidly in place on top of his belly. 

"I know what you are. You're one of _those_ people. One of those kinky belly fuckers. Aren't you?" 

"W-What?!" Shuichi couldn't help it anymore--he felt the blood rush to his face, a hot, deep red. "I would never--! You're messing with me! I don't have... _kinks_. That's...n-no!" 

"You suuuuuure?" Forcefully now, Kokichi moved Shuichi's hand, rubbing it over his stomach and forcing him to feel the tiny bump of it again. "You're being _awfully_ jumpy." 

"What even... What kind of kink even is that, anyway?!" Shuichi felt as if part of his heart would explode. _Belly kink? That's a thing? That's not... That can't be real! This isn't real! It's not... I don't have a belly kink! It would explain...my feelings... No!!!! No, it's not true!_

"Nyeehee...it's useless to keep denying it, Shuichi. It all makes sense. You couldn't keep your eyes off me when I was eating. Don't think I didn't notice you over there, shaking in your boots. And every time I burped, you were practically spluging in your pants." 

Kokichi's voice was almost hissing as he pulled down on his arm, bringing him closer. "You act like you're so clean and upstanding and spotless all the time, but I know. You're just a nasty, nasty boy underneath it all, aren't you?" 

"K-Kokichi, stop!" Shuichi struggled, but he was holding him tightly in place. _It's not true! He's just being gross! I can't...I can't_ live _with myself if it were true. It's not true!!!_

"I bet you wanted to force-feed me yourself, you piece of filth. Prod and poke at my tummy as you stuffed more food in my mouth. People like you make me sick, you know. You're not even satisfied with just regular 'ol nasty porn, no...you have to do twisted shit like _this_ to get your jollies." 

To his horror, Shuichi began to feel scratchy, angry tears forming at the edges of his eyelids. His words were stabbing into him in ways he couldn't describe. He wasn't...and yet...!! 

"I bet you never even really cared about my health. You only wanted to get me here and feed me so you could get off to my cute little tummy getting all bloated like this, huh? All that stuff about caring for me was all a lie..." 

" _That's wrong_!!!" 

With a force finally overpowering his grip, Shuichi tore his hand away, wrenching his arms to the side. Two teardrops rolled down his hot face, and he panted, recovering after his scream, pressing both hands to his chest. 

At last, Kokichi fell silent. 

"...That's wrong." He gasped for air once more, and made his declaration, all of his chaotic thoughts falling to this one truth. "It doesn't matter. Even...even if I have some weird kink...I never knew about before... Nothing changes the fact that I only wanted you to get better. If...if I ended up hurting you, I'm sorry. I'm truly sorry. Because my only desire is...to see you healthy again." 

Silence. Shuichi violently wiped his face, stuffing down any other tears that poked at the back of his eyeballs. And the silence was roaring in his ears, threatening to crush him. When had all of this gone wrong? Had it been his fault? Did he...destroy everything? 

"You know..." Kokichi's voice slithered out again, almost a whisper, though his face had softened just a tad. "...I bet the viewers are eating this up. You're never going to live this down, Shuichi. You're going to be the weirdo with the stomach fetish...no one in the outside world is ever going to take you seriously anymore. You'll be shunned and ostracized and no one will ever come to you with their cases anymore. You've just become a failure as a detective, and as a person." 

"...Shut up, Kokichi. Just shut the hell up." 

"...But if you were willing to go that far...if you truly were willing to throw all of that away, just because you wanted to make sure I would be okay... You're the biggest idiot of them all." 

He wanted to choke him. He wanted to punch him. He wanted to scream. This was all a big mistake. He should have known. Any attempt to reach Kokichi Ouma would just end in disaster. Maybe it really was hopeless...and it was partly his own damn fault. If he really had this... _thing_...if he was really that abnormal, detestable... 

"But...you're definitely, absolutely, completely not boring. In fact...you're the complete opposite of boring." 

_Huh...?_

Being called "not boring" certainly didn't seem good... After all, if he was "not boring" to the viewers, they would just hound him and humiliate him all the more. Except...part of him knew something about that phrase... Kokichi...used it as a sort of compliment. He wasn't sure how he knew, but...in his own backwards, lying language, he meant...that he liked him. He liked him a lot. 

He didn't want to, but when he did look back at the small supreme leader in his chair...he was smiling. Gently and almost reassuringly...a small smile, accompanied by those almost-pink cheeks. How he wanted to believe it. 

Kokichi sat up straight again, tucking his feet under the chair and gripping the seat. "Hey...Shuichi..." He slightly beckoned him to come closer. 

The idea of actually doing it now was ludicrous--he was just going to say something hurtful and vaguely threatening again. But Shuichi found himself obeying, just because...there was nothing left to lose. 

Closer...closer...Kokichi beckoned him in closer, until his cheek was brushing against the purple-dipped tips of his hair. Then, he craned his neck upward...and whispered into his ear. "I lied." 

_Well, of course..._

"I don't mind if you have a belly kink. It's really not that bad. You should see some of the shit that Miu's into. Now that stuff's nasty." 

_Wha...?_ Against his will, Shuichi felt his heart speeding up a little again. He stepped back, and fixed those wide purple eyes with a serious, searching gaze. "Really? You're not lying about lying? You promise?" 

"Ahaha. I do lie all the time--and I lie about lying, and then I lie about lying that I was lying. But not this time." 

"Jeez..." Shuichi shook his head. And he didn't know if he should let it, but relief came flooding into his chest. Of course. Of course, of course. 

He had to be better than this. He'd told himself he wouldn't give up, no matter what, and already, he'd been on the verge of throwing in the towel. Whether he really did have a belly kink or not wasn't the issue. It was...not allowing Kokichi to drive him away. Getting to his heart, as much as he might try to deflect him. He'd deal with his own... _issues_...later. He had to stop getting so flustered and letting him affect his emotions so much. Kokichi was going to play with his feelings, that much was a given...so, he couldn't give in. 

With a resigned sigh, Shuichi stepped into the middle of the room. "Alright... So, since you're done now, I can--" 

"Heeeeeeey." Kokichi tilted his head as he turned to look at him. "Aren't you forgetting something?" 

"What now?" Shuichi tried not to sound annoyed, but...he really wanted this subject to drop. 

"That." Kokichi nodded his head towards the shelf...where the slice of Astro Cake was still sitting on its small plate, in all its soft, sweet, frosted glory. "You said I could have dessert if I finished, riiiight?" 

Shrugging his shoulders, Shuichi puffed out another sigh. "Whatever you think of me now, it's fine. I'm not going to make you eat that too. It's fine now--that's good enough." 

"But I _want_ it." Kokichi huffed. "You're going to deny me my sweet reward after all that? How cruel." 

"Uh..." Shuichi was honestly surprised. _Didn't he want to get out of here as soon as possible? Unless..._ "I told you, I don't want to hurt you..." 

"It's not a lie! I really do want it!" Kokichi was grinning, as if everything was completely fine. "I'm kinda stuffed, sure, but that's not gonna stop me." 

"I'm really not going to be happy if you puke on my rug." 

"A Supreme Leader doesn't puke. It just doesn't happen. C'mon, Shuichi. Pleeeeeeease?" 

_He is truly incomprehensible._ "Alright, alright...I'll go get it." 

"Yaaaaay, cake time!" 

Shuichi couldn't help shaking his head, even as he made his way to the shelf and retrieved the cake, as well as a clean fork and napkin. None of this made any sense, but then again...he was just going to have to get used to it. Throwing out his common sense and going with the flow...it made him anxious, of course, it made him terribly nervous...but he was going to do it. For both of their sakes. 

"There's _one_ itsy bitsy catch, though..." Kokichi spoke with a teasing lilt, as Shuichi finally arrived at his side with the Astro Cake. He tucked his arms behind his head and leaned back against the back of the chair again. "I'm getting bored of having to sit there and eat, so... You gotta feed it to me." 

"What?!" It was just surprise after surprise after surprise. Shuichi definitely hadn't expected this, and was once again caught off guard. Why would...? He _wanted_ this? Actually...he probably just wanted to tease him some more. Laugh and ask if he was deriving some sort of depraved sexual stimulation from stuffing forkfuls of cake into his mouth. Was that was this was all about? It was fairly probable. 

Kokichi seemed to notice his hesitation, and waved a hand at him. "Hey, don't worry. I won't tease you...too much. I've had enough of that. So, c'mon. Serve me, peasant." Before even waiting for an answer, he closed his eyes, leaning forward a little bit, and opened his mouth wide. "Ahhhhhhhhh..." 

Meanwhile, Shuichi thought of twenty different things he could do rather than comply. Yet, with a shaky hand, he took up the fork, cut off a bite of the fluffy vanilla and strawberry-filled cake...and complied. 

The squishy pastry pushed into Kokichi's open mouth, and he closed it once he felt it, letting Shuichi slide the fork out, with a tiny smile. "Mmmm," he mumbled through his full mouth. "That's it." Then, he swallowed, and opened his mouth again for more. 

This was incredibly bizarre...Shuichi couldn't get over how strange everything had turned out. No matter what kinds of scenarios he'd planned for, no matter what he'd tried to predict, he'd never have been able to see this coming. Well, he was a detective, after all, not a soothsayer. All he could do was examine things after they had already happened. And goodness knows, he'd be thinking about this crazy night for days to come. 

Despite how he tried to distract himself, as the feeding went on, Shuichi began to tremble and his face began to flush once more. After three bites, Kokichi's chewing began to slow. It was taking more and more time for him to open his mouth again. But he always did. 

_It must be...uncomfortable and hard to keep eating now._ A part of him felt guilty knowing he might be in pain. But another part of him, a part of him he silently resented, thought it was terribly, terribly enthralling. 

Kokichi's face as he chewed... His eyes were still closed, savoring the sweet flavor of one of his favored treats. Even if it was a false personality, there were times he had a childish cuteness to him, even he had to admit...and this was one of those times. His expression suggested that he truly was having a wonderful time, and he very much hoped that was true. 

Again...and again... Poking soft, yummy pastry bites into his small mouth... His pallid face lighting up with calm, soothing enjoyment. He couldn't spout lies and nasty words when his mouth was full of sweet things. Shuichi liked him this way. Contented. Calm. Nourished. Safe. 

The very last two bites were a bit of a struggle for Kokichi, and he broke his calm expression for a second to make himself swallow. When he opened his mouth again, and Shuichi announced that there was no more, he breathed a shallow sigh of relief. 

With a quiet moan, he settled himself deeply into the chair and rested a hand on the top of his belly, attempting to soothe it a little. "Hoo boy, it's a good thing that was the-- _ic!_ \--the last of it. Cause I'm about capped off right now." 

Shuichi squeezed at his upper arm, trying to prevent his body from going up in flames, but it was a wasted effort. From where Kokichi was pressing in, he could see the shape...and he might just be going crazy, but it looked like the little bulge of his tummy had become just a bit more bulgy. Why was it so damn appealing?! Why did he want to touch it so badly?! Was this really a fetish thing?! And was that okay?! 

Kokichi cracked one eye open and smirked at the sight of his heavily blushing face. "I know you probably wanna rub it now, Shuichi, but no more for you tonight, 'kay? No touchie." 

"I didn't-- Well, whatever. And, uh, I won't touch you like that again. Not unless you say it's okay. I promise." 

"Aww, so considerate... Now that you're learning to deal with your feelings properly..." 

"That's not--nevermind." 

Gingerly and delicately, Kokichi stretched out his limbs like a cat...and then crumpled back into a lump in the chair. "Now here's the problem...I don't feel like moving anymore. So, Shuichi, you gotta carry me back to my room. You did this to me, so you gotta take responsibility." 

With one nervous finger, Shuichi scratched at the back of his neck. "Well...I know I've started working out with Kaito and everything but...I dunno if I could really carry you all the way up the stairs..." 

"Nyeehee, you're so useless and unreliable... _oof_..." 

When he tried to get up on his own, Kokichi just clutched his stomach and fell back down. For a split second, he actually looked a bit worried, before resuming his usual smirk. "Oh well! Guess it can't be helped! I'm sleeping in your room tonight, Shuichi!" 

"Okay..." Honestly, he'd thought about that possibility. Extremely unlikely, yes, but...he _had_ considered it. It would be awkward and kind of weird, but...he'd decided he could do it. He didn't mind. No one else besides the viewers at home would know that they'd spent the night together. And if he really needed to rest after all this, he definitely should, no matter where. 

"Really? Yay, yay, it's sleepover time with my dear Shuichi! I'm so excited! Are we gonna do our hair? Talk about the boys we like? Prank call some of our friends? Hm, hmm?" Kokichi squirmed in his seat, though he kept a hand on his stomach to prevent it from jostling too much. 

Shuichi only rolled his eyes in response, while he moved to clean up the remains on the desk. Scattered napkins, empty bowls, used chopsticks, a mostly-empty glass of grape soda...he stashed the dirty dishes back on the shelves, and flung the trash into his wastebacket. But he didn't say a word. Somehow, he could just feel the burning little pinpricks of Kokichi's eyes on his back. 

"You suuuuure you want to let me stay? Who knows what I could do to you in your sleep, you know? I could destroy that pretty face of yours with permanent markers. Or...I could even kill you." 

"........" Though his teeth clenched, Shuichi had an inkling of what was going on here. He was _trying_ to make him kick him out. By now, he was able to understand that much. But why? 

"Kokichi, if you want to stay, I don't mind. I really don't mind at all. It doesn't bother me." 

"...Oh? Cause you're used to having other boys sleep in your room with you? That right?" 

A sudden, powerful urge seized Shuichi's chest. A thought, a revelation. It was out of the blue, unfounded on any solid logic...the kind of thing he would usually ignore, but... It was so intense, and he was suddenly so _sure_ , that...he had to confirm it. 

Quickly wiping his hands on another napkin, Shuichi returned to Kokichi's side, hovering close at his left shoulder. He'd said he wouldn't touch him anymore, but...there was no way he'd let him, unless he did it this way... 

Wide purple eyes swiveled over to look at him...and he extended his hand, pressing a thumb to his cheek. Up...to just underneath his eye. Cupping the rest of his fingers under his chin, to keep his head steady. 

Kokichi noticed. He realized, and he suddenly tried to wrench his face away, but it was already too late. Pressing in, Shuichi swiped his thumb firmly across the skin below his eyelid, to the curved bridge of his nose. And when he pulled it back...it was absolutely covered in white powder. 

Kokichi's head snapped back around, glaring daggers...and under his left eye was a deep, bruised, blue-and-black circle of obvious sleep deprivation. He'd been hiding it. He'd been hiding them all this time, under a layer of makeup. And a soft ache tinged the edges of Shuichi's heart. He'd been right...and oh, how he wished he hadn't. 

"Kokichi...........please tell me you've slept at least once since we arrived here." 

He was terribly quiet. His vicious look settled into something more empty, his pupils sliding to the side, as if thinking...thinking of what to say. No matter--he wouldn't be able to lie about this. The evidence was already laid bare on his cheek, and he couldn't paint over it anymore. The worst kind of situation for him--when he had no freedom to invent his own truths. 

Finally, the words returned. "........Define 'sleep'." 

"Kokichi..." It was hard for Shuichi not to let the concern show on his face. It wasn't going to help...looking at him with pity would just exact more antagonistic responses from him. Instead, he just felt the pain swirling within his chest. 

_He hasn't been sleeping, he hasn't been eating... Just what has he been doing? He kept saying that eating was a waste of time. Just what is he so obsessed with doing...to the point that he would neglect his own health? To the point that he would care so little about himself, to let his body deteriorate this much..._

"That's it. I've decided now. You're staying the night." 

Kokichi squirmed a bit again. "So you can force me to sleep, too?" 

"You got it." 

"How dull and predictable of you. Buuuuuut, I suppose, if you insist..." His cheeks puffed, taking on a teasing expression again. "You had better not murder me in my sleep. Cause I'll just return as a ghost and haunt you for the remainder of your miserable life." 

"Haha, got it."

"Also, when you murder me, that means you inherit control of my worldwide criminal empire. You become the new Ultimate Supreme Leader. You'll have to take control of the organization, or the entire world will devolve into madness. And I know you don't want that."

"No, definitely not." 

Shuichi was learning, even in this short amount of time they'd spent together. Learning how to talk to him, how to approach him, how to piece him together, even if only a fraction of the way. As long as he remained adamant...it wasn't impossible. He wanted to _prove_ it to Kaede, to everyone... 

With a whispered grunt, Kokichi was rocking back and forth, trying to pick himself up...so Shuichi bent his knees...and offered him a hand. He didn't expect him to actually take it. And he didn't expect his entire world to shudder and flip and pulse before his very eyes. 

As soon as Kokichi's bony left hand slipped into his palm, something rushed into Shuichi's senses, weaving through his brain, and freezing his breath. A terrible, awestruck, phantasmagoric feeling, like deja vu, only worse. Like reality was warping, blending into something he couldn't exactly place. 

For a moment, he felt himself pressing a white cloth bandage to Kokichi's fingers. He heard Kokichi's bubbling, unrestrained laughter. He saw the bandage, wrapped tightly around two of those fingers, a tiny pinkish smear of blood beginning to seep through between them. Vaguely, he heard words... "I stole your heart..." "You'll never, ever, forget me..." "I never wanted your life..." 

His mouth dropped open as he desperately tried to process what he was seeing. Concentrating with all his faculties, he managed bleed the world back into focus. The warm little hand had nothing wrapped around any part of it....... 

Just behind it, Kokichi had gotten to his feet. His eyes were wide, transfixed, and incredulous...his cheeks blanching, his entire body paralyzed. 

"Did..." Shuichi could barely find his vocal chords. The sound of his own voice sounded foreign to him. "Did you...hurt your hand...? 

Those eyes were so icy, so bottomless, so mysterious, in the stark silence that followed. Something had changed within him as well... Something...something was here, just beyond the grasp of human comprehension. But it was slipping away again, returning to this reality, this piece of time and space. 

".............Heh." The laugh roughly punched out of Kokichi's lungs. "Heh...eheheh...heheheheheheheheh..." His mouth stretched into a toothy grin. "Shuichi...have you gone mad? My hand's fine. Can't you see straight? Is there something wrong with your brain? Or...maybe it's just that you want to hurt me? That's probably it, huh? I knew you couldn't be trusted." 

"Ah...a-um...ugh..." Sweat was beading at Shuichi's hairline, one drop beginning to run down the side of his temple. His trembling hand let Kokichi's drop back to his side. _What...what was that? What is going on? I...I'm sure...his hand was injured...at some point. I remember...bandaging it. But...I never did that. There's nothing there. There should be, and yet it's not there..._

Physically, he shook his head, he slapped his cheek, he chewed his tongue, anything to ground him back to the moment. "Y-yeah, I... Something really weird just happened to me, I don't know...what I'm talking about. I'm sorry. Maybe I am going crazy." 

A tiny fingertip poked him in the forehead. "Silly Shuichi and his poor little crazy brain." 

Focusing his vision, Shuichi watched as Kokichi stretched and took a slow step. He...seemed completely fine now. The same as always. But something had _changed_ , and though he couldn't figure it out now, he definitely, definitely wanted to. 

"Alright, I'm gonna go freshen up," Kokichi announced. "Try not to kill yourself in the meantime." And with that, he made his way to the bathroom, a slight limp in his gait as he tried not to disturb his swollen and overfull little belly. 

Shuichi sank onto his bed as soon as the bathroom door clicked closed. Mired in his own confusion, he held his head in his hands and forced gentle, deep, strengthening breaths. So much was going on inside him, he might need several days to sort it all out. But, of course, he couldn't afford to waste that time alone in his room. He would have to face everyone else tomorrow, act like everything was the same as always, even though it felt like his entire world had shifted into another dimension. A strange dimension where he had an affinity for feeding people and bandages could appear and disappear, memories rearranging to suit their own ends. 

No matter what, he was _positive_ he'd bandaged Kokichi's hand at some point, and it was only through touching that same hand had he been able to recall it. And no matter how chaotic and confounding all of this was, one truth had emerged. If he wanted to get to the bottom of this, if he wanted to see beyond this surface level...he would have to delve further into Kokichi's enigma. The more time they spent together...the more would be revealed. Most of all, Shuichi wanted to know more...he _had_ to know more. And knowing _him_ would be the key to it all. 

When Kokichi returned, he'd ditched his messy bandanna, revealing the jagged top edge of his shirt and his jutting collarbone. Hopefully, tonight's meal would help him heal now, because he really was far too thin. 

After some arguing and teasing and banter, he finally agreed to lie down in Shuichi's bed, while Shuichi moved the soft armchair over, curling himself up on its cushion. With a reluctant sigh, Kokichi wiggled himself under the covers, lying flat on his back and staring at the ceiling. 

Shuichi turned off the overhead lights and flipped open a pocket-sized reading light, using it to read a little bit more, as he curled in the chair, cradling the book in his lap. There was no way he could actually sleep right now--he had to calm himself down first. Predictable mystery novels were usually good for that. 

Two chapters passed, and his heart had slowed to an acceptable sleepy level. Then...on his way back from his final bathroom trip, Shuichi decided to...check. 

Kokichi's eyes were closed, his breathing gentle and even, his head limply turned to the side in the soft embrace of the pillow. The wavy strands of his hair fluffed around it in a messy bunch. Just to be completely sure, Shuichi took a pen from his desk, and very carefully, softly poked his cheek with it. His breath hitched a slight bit, but otherwise, he didn't move. Kokichi really had fallen asleep. 

Despite everything, Shuichi found himself smiling, a tiny spot of affection blooming in his heart. _Thank goodness._ This boy...this frustrating, mysterious, obnoxious, evasive, frightening, confusing, and intriguing boy...was going to be okay now. Tucked into a warm, soft bed, soothing rest finally reaching him...a parcel of warm nourishment tucked away inside of him, slowly nurturing and healing him with energy and life. It was so wonderful, Shuichi was loathe to turn away, leave that heart-warming sight to the darkness of time. _I'm just so glad...I was able to give him this comfort and care... Even if he doesn't appreciate it, if he'd rather me not...I'm glad. Because his life is more important than he thinks._

"Mnmm..." 

As Shuichi stood, gazing down at the troublesome boy's sleeping form, it suddenly began to stir. 

"Hnnn..." Kokichi's forehead pinched. His eyelids shuddered. His breath came faster, shorter. Pain. Clear, obvious pain had seized him in his sleep, and Shuichi nearly gasped. 

"Nnn...mmmm!" His body suddenly thrashed, tossing to the side, his arms clenching in closer to his body, one leg giving a weak kick. Another whispered moan sounded, half-muffled by the pillow. 

_Kokichi! What happened?_ Shuichi watched in horror as the smaller boy continued mumbling in pain, uncomfortably shuffling under the covers. He'd been sleeping so peacefully just a moment ago... How come...? It wasn't a stomachache, was it? It hadn't bothered him before, though... 

With another weak toss of his head, Kokichi groaned something...that almost sounded like "no". 

_Is he...is he having a nightmare?_ The idea was slightly absurd, but...that's certainly what it looked like. A terrible nightmare. _Is this...why he hardly sleeps? Because he keeps having nightmares like this? I can't believe it, but...it must. It must be._

He had to do something. He had to stop this somehow, anyhow, or else Kokichi would wake up again, to another night of restless agony. But he couldn't go inside his mind, he couldn't tell him everything was okay now, he couldn't whisper gentle reassurances and rub at his back... 

Kokichi flipped over once more, facing towards him...and in a panic, Shuichi did the first thing he thought to do. He reached out...and gently grasped his left hand, cupping it softly in his own. 

"Mmh..." Kokichi's head ducked further into the covers...but the rest of his body didn't move. To Shuichi's amazement and relief, his convulsions stopped...and gradually, his moaning was quieting down, his breathing gently relaxing. The pained clenching of his face was softly soothing away again...and Shuichi tenderly ran his thumb over the fingers resting in his palm, as if reassuring him, firmly letting him know that he was still there, his warmth and his care was here for him. 

At last, Kokichi's breath returned to its slow, peaceful rythmn, and a sad little smile formed on Shuichi's lips in the dark. _That's it. It's okay._

After a moment, just standing there at the bedside, he realized... _Uh...what am I going to do now?_

He couldn't let go of Kokichi's hand. The thought of letting go and leaving the nightmares to crawl back into his head was unacceptable. There was no way on earth he was letting go now. But...he still needed to sleep, too. 

Despite his rational thoughts, his heart had already made up his mind. _It doesn't matter. This is more important than anything. I won't let go._ And he carefully crawled into the bed, squeezing himself in beside Kokichi's sleeping form. Kokichi's hand gave a little squeeze in return...almost as if confirming his presence, and he held it firmly and reassuringly in return. 

_I'll never let go._ Shuichi laid his head down, so close to Kokichi's peacefully slumbering face...and his heart gave a little throb. He lifted his hand just a little, lacing his fingers tighter with Kokichi's...pouring all of the care and affection he felt into this touch. If only he could communicate this way...if only he could hear the truest thoughts of his heart... 

_Kokichi... If you're suffering, please... Please don't bear it all alone. You don't have to be alone. Pain is meant to be shared. You don't have to shoulder all of this pain all by yourself. I'm here. I'm here for you. I promise, I'm here for you. And it'll be okay. It's alright now..._

Holding the image of his soft, serene sleeping face in his mind's eye, Shuichi slowly slid his eyes shut. _I won't ever let go. I won't ever give up on you. I promise._

And before he knew it, he was slipping into a soft sleep of his own, mind and body thoroughly exhausted. This was his fate now. His heart, his body, connected to this strange boy's. For better or worse, they were irrevocably entwined. And even if he didn't know it yet...Shuichi wouldn't have it any other way.


	2. To Determine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, this chapter wasn't meant to end at this point. The problem was, it was already getting so long, that I decided to end it here, before it got to be twice as long as chapter 1. There's still enough content for a substantial chapter 3, though it might end up slightly shorter than usual. 
> 
> The kink is very, very light in this chapter--it's mostly just plot and character interactions. That is to say...there will be a bit more of it in the next chapter. 
> 
> There's another little change I made to the English version--I fixed Gonta. 
> 
> Thanks for all the support this has gotten so far! I'm frankly amazed.

Chapter 2: To Determine

\---

_Thump! Clunk!_

_Ding-dong-bing-bong_!

_Clack! Shff._  
  
_What?_

A bleary fog obscuring his vision, Shuichi slowly opened his heavy eyes. The light blue ceiling of his own dorm room hung over him, yet everything felt _off_. He'd just awoken from a crazy dream, after all...a dream involving Kokichi Ouma and food and strange visions or memories and having an attraction to bellies and comforting the distressed boy in his sleep and...

"Rise and Shine, Ursine!"

_Wait..._

"It's another beautiful day filled with hope and love!"

"Wait, is that really what this is supposed to be...?"

"Well, whatever! Get those young bodies up and put them to good use, okay?!"

The boisterous voices of the various Monokubs sounded from the monitor overhead...as well as a continuous nearby clacking. Once the customary announcement had concluded, Shuichi shot up in bed. Was it... Had that... Everything last night was...

"Wooooow, you wait all that time for the stupid morning announcement before you get up? No wonder you never get anything done."

There he was. Kokichi Ouma was standing in front of his dresser and television, like nothing had ever happened, holding a rectangular black object in one pallid hand. It had all really happened. Apparently, he'd woken up first. And despite the cocky look on his face, he did indeed appear...more well-rested. Though his mouth was still hanging open, Shuichi felt a tiny jolt of relief inside him.

"Welp, I found your little device remote thingamajigger, so I guess I'll be going now."

Nimbly, Kokichi hopped over the range of the motion sensor on the wall and pressed the button on the remote. With a scraping and clanking, the chains over the door retracted, winding back around their winches, and coming to a solid halt.

He let the remote fall to the floor as he turned his back and waved. "Bye-bye, Shumai." And with that, he disappeared through the door, leaving the room in confused silence.

It was a second before anything could register in Shuichi's mind. And when it finally did, all he could think was... _"Shumai"...?_

Well...that had certainly been the most interesting wake-up he'd had in this place.

Hesitantly and uncertainly, Shuichi slipped from his bed, pressing bare feet to the soft carpet and looking around his room. He had to get going--he had to disable and remove the traps, bring the dirty dishes to the dining hall, and get himself ready for another day of imprisonment. But he couldn't help wondering, as he looked back on last night's escapade.

When Kokichi had woken up...had they still been holding hands? Had he dropped his hand immediately, or had he held on for a little longer? What did he... _think_ about that? It was weird...he hadn't even teased him over the fact that they'd been in the same bed together. That was _definitely_ strange. In fact, he hadn't even acknowledged it at all. Maybe he never would acknowledge it. Was that...a good thing? Would it be better to talk about it, or not to talk about it? _Would_ he ever talk about it, or would he just pretend it never happened?

It was just a bit of hand-holding and comforting, and yet Shuichi felt _awkward_ now, like he'd done something forbidden, something that needed to be kept a secret. What would happen if the others found out about everything that had happened last night? Well...if Kokichi told them, they would never believe him, and he'd just have to count on that.

With a sigh and a shake of his head, Shuichi turned to the wall, carefully removing the security sensor and retrieving the remote. He had to concentrate, get all of this out of his head, and prepare for today. He had to forget about Kokichi for now, focus on the task of puzzling out this school and interacting with everyone else again.

Most likely, he'd hang out with Kaede again, maybe have a talk with Kaito and Maki... And there were a few places on the fourth and fifth floors he wanted to re-check... _Yeah. I have a lot to get done. And I have to get to the dining hall as soon as possible._

Determined now, Shuichi flew into the bathroom, yanking a towel from a cupboard inside and preparing for a quick morning shower. But as soon as he looked at the tub, he froze...and it all came rushing back. Last night's memories, this morning's awkwardness...

Something was in his way, draped over the edge of the bathtub, in all its taunting black, white, and pink glory. Just the sight of that something was enough to set his heart pounding again when he remembered the images, the feelings. All from just one little piece of cloth.

_Oh, goddammit_ , he mentally cursed. _He forgot his bandanna._

\---

Apparently, Kokichi must have ducked into his own room to change into a fresh set of clothes and a clean bandanna, because he looked the same as always when Shuichi finally arrived at the dining hall for their breakfast meeting. Shuichi still hadn't decided what to do with the dirty one yet...probably toss it into Kirumi's laundry pile when no one was looking.

As he suspected, he was the very last one to arrive, and his classmates were already raising a ruckus. Today's breakfast was an assortment of various oatmeal, fruit, and toast, and the mushy gunk probably hadn't been a good idea. Angie was trying (unsuccessfully) to lead everyone in a prayer, Himiko had fallen asleep face-first in her oatmeal, and Tenko was trying to wake her up and wipe up the mess. Kaito, Rantaro, Ryoma, and Tsumugi were having a loud conversation, something about health and physical activity, while Kiyo and Maki were just trying to ignore everything. Kokichi was smearing his oatmeal into the cracks of Kiibo's body, while the robo-boy shrieked and Miu watched, half annoyed and half aroused. It was...a peaceful sort of chaos, though, and one that Shuichi was gradually growing accustomed to.

"Ah, there he is!" Kaito shouted above the din when he noticed his entrance. "Our last straggler! You doin' alright, Shuichi?"

"Yeah..." Shuichi awkwardly picked at his collar. "I'm sorry. I just kind of overslept this morning."

Kaede swiveled around to look at him, and her face said that she definitely didn't buy it.

Great. He was going to have to think up even more lies to get by her, as well. Lying for a liar...was he turning to the dark side? Falling into a pit of darkness, the evil beginning to taint his heart? No, no it wasn't like that. As much as he hated keeping secrets from Kaede, he knew all too well that she'd just try to interfere and get in the way if she knew the truth.

A bit of a nervous shudder went through him as he sat in the empty chair she'd saved for him and pulled over a piece of toast with melon and blueberry. The questions were immediate, from both Kaede and Kaito--where had he been last night? Did he get to sleep on time? Was he feeling ill at all? Shuichi did his best to form reasonable answers--he'd discovered a very interesting book in the library that might relate to their situation, and he'd taken it back to his room to read through. He'd gotten so focused on it that he'd completely forgotten about training and he'd accidentally stayed up a little bit later than usual. It was plausible to Kaito, and he finally dropped it, though Kaede still looked at him with worry, and it pained him to see her that way. He made up his mind to apologize to her later, and in his mind, he apologized five times over.

Thankfully, the abnormal breakfast routine resumed, and he spent the time chatting with Kaede about the piano piece they were working on together and supposed "tidbits" he'd gathered from this "important library book".

Shuichi couldn't help glancing across the table at Kokichi every now and then, though, making note that he hadn't actually consumed any of the oatmeal he was using as robot paste. Normally, he'd say something--or get over there and force it down his throat himself. But considering the dinner he'd just had last night, he decided to let it slide. But he swore up and down...he absolutely would _not_ let him skip lunch, too. And, of course, the fourth or fifth time he looked over...he was caught.

Kokichi glanced at him at the same time...their eyes met...and his eyes narrowed. "Oh, hey, Shuichi. Waiting for me to sensually consume this entire bowl of oatmeal for you?"

"The fuck?" Miu asked, tugging on one of her long, messy strands of hair. "Why would anyone wanna see that?! Your gross-ass mouth isn't even big enough for Poo-ichi's tiny dick!"

"Oh, but I know a _secret_..." Kokichi put on a devious smirk, looking out to the whole table now. "Shuichi totally gets off on watching people eat and rubbing their stomachs and forcing them to swallow more than they can hold..."

Of course. Of _course_ he was going to announce this to the entire class. You could trust Kokichi with a secret for all of five seconds. _Not that it_ is _a secret because it's not true. It's just his crazy speculation. But anyway..._

"Pff." Beside him, Kaede puffed her cheeks with annoyance and slightly lifted out of her seat. "Don't make up rumors about Shuichi like that."

"Oh, but I'm definitely not making this up. Not this time." Kokichi finally stopped smearing oatmeal on Kiibo, to the robot's relief, and let his spoon splat back down into the oatmeal bowl. "Whether you believe me or not, it's true! Shuichi's got a big old feeding and belly-bloating fetish!"

"Whahaha!" Miu burst into laughter. "Ah, man! It's always the quiet ones, hiding their nasty kinky sides! Just look at him! I knew he was a fuckin' pervert!"

Immediately, Kaede snapped back at her, causing her to shrink back into her nervous side and look away.

"Yup, yup!" Kokichi continued stoking the fires. "None of you guys saw it, but he definitely tied me down and stuffed cake into my mouth until I had a horrible stomachache and I nearly exploded! You guys almost had a murder on your hands!"

"No way!" Tenko spoke up, to everyone's surprise. "Shuichi may be a degenerate male, but he's not _that_ much of a lowlife!"

_Uh...thanks for that vote of confidence...?_

"Yeah." Kaede angrily agreed. "Kokichi is just lying again, as usual."

"Just ignore that dude, he's only going to spout nonsense," Kaito concurred.

"Um...Gonta thinks that Shuichi is definitely not that kind of person," Gonta spoke up, putting a thoughtful finger to his face. "No matter what, Shuichi would not do something that would bring harm to someone. That's what Gonta believes."

"Oh, just shut up!" Kokichi whipped around to snap at him. "No one cares what you think, flea-brain! Useless people like you should just shut your retarded mouth and leave everyone alone before you make us all keel over with your astounding stupidity."

"Ah...!" Poor Gonta didn't fight back, of course, and just accepted his unduly harsh words. "Gonta is so sorry! Gonta will stay silent from now on!"

Near his elbow, Tsumugi sighed. "Please, you have to stop taking him seriously, Gonta."

Thankfully, though, the focus had shifted to people trying to comfort the sweet-hearted giant and berating Kokichi, so they dropped the whole "Shuichi is a belly fetishist" thing. Though, during it all, Shuichi filed away a certain observation.

It had been this way from day one--Kokichi might antagonize everyone, but he was especially cruel to Gonta, for some reason. It made sense, considering how gullible and how pure-hearted Gonta was, in a way. Maybe his innocence and his gentle mentality got on his nerves even more than Kaito's boundless optimism. Yet, he thought there might be something more to it...just _why_ did he hate Gonta in particular so much? He'd have to pay more attention, try to notice if there was any sort of pattern, any certain words or phrases that set him off. Kaito's "I believe in my friends" speeches always irked him, of course, but what else...? It was just another piece to the white milk puzzle that was Kokichi.

Breakfast began to wind down after that, most of the other students disappearing to their labs or trying to make plans with each other. Miu took Kiibo away to clean the gunk out of him, and Kaito and Maki awkwardly left together on some kind of it's-not-a-date date.

"So," Kaede asked, with a smile, as the two of them got up together. "What did you want to do today, Shuichi? I kind of want to practice a little more, but I don't want you to get tired of it, so...maybe we could go for a walk first?"

Shuichi turned to her with a kind smile in return. He was just about to answer with a "sure!", when something suddenly thwapped against his back. "Ah--!"

"Sorry, no can do, Kaede." Kokichi had appeared at his side, swiftly retracting his hand from where he'd smacked Shuichi. Though Shuichi could only see the side of his face, he could definitely see that gloating smirk he wore. "Shuichi already promised me that we'd spend _alllll_ day together."

_I made no such promise..._ Despite himself, Shuichi found his heart speeding up. _But that means...he_ wants _to spend time with me? Unless he's just doing this so that I'll get angry and avoid him instead. I don't know, but..._

Kaede crossed her arms, glaring at him. "No way. Shuichi didn't say that. And why would he even want to hang out with you after what you did to him...?"

"Um..." Shuichi had to break this off before they got into a stubborn argument. He'd decided he would do it. He had to...learn more about Kokichi, after all. And make sure he ate today. And as he was slowly realizing...he honestly wanted to.

"Actually...I'm really sorry, Kaede. But it's actually true. I did promise him..."

"Uh..." Her face was confused, but not upset, thankfully. Her pink eyes were searching his face. "Really...? You're sure...?"

If Kokichi was surprised, he definitely didn't show it. "Nyeeheehee, of course!" He patted at Shuichi's elbow. "I might be a terrible liar, but _Shuichi_ would never lie to you."

_Shut up. Just shut up. Do you want to hang out or not?_

Shuichi could only avert his eyes, crawling back into his own self-consciousness. She was _not_ going to be happy if she ever found out... "I...really am sorry, Kaede."

Kaede heaved a sigh, but she was calming down and accepting it. "Alright. I understand. A promise is a promise. I'll come check on you before nighttime, though."

"Thank you." And the relief and gratitude in Shuichi's voice came straight from the heart.

Kaede left the dining hall, probably headed for her piano lab, and Shuichi awkwardly exited afterwards, all too aware of Kokichi skipping after him. A minute later, they were alone in the hallway, and Shuichi whirled on him, being met with the familiar sight of his plastered cheeky grin. "Alright. What do you want?"

"What do I want?" He cocked his head at him. "More like what do _you_ want? I never expected you to actually agree to spend the day with me. How interesting. Am I starting to _taint_ you, Shuichi?"

"No," Shuichi starkly denied. "But I did want to...keep an eye on you."

"Oh ho!" Kokichi hopped up and down, causing his purple mop of hair to bounce. "I'm so excited! So, what are we doing today, Shuichi? Are we gonna poke our fingers in my bellybutton? Or are we gonna stick a funnel in my mouth and pour a gallon of heavy cream into it? Oooh, that sounds awesome!"

"Kokichi..." Shuichi already felt his forehead clenching, and he knew one of his top priorities now would be getting himself some aspirin, because goodness knows, he was going to need it. "I'm _not_ like that. And even if I _did_ have some kind of...fetish, I'd never force anything like that on you."

"Good." Kokichi stopped bouncing and gave him a sideways glare. "Cause that was a lie. Heavy cream on its own is disgusting, and I'd probably just vomit it all up immediately."

Shuichi could only sigh. _He's never going to let this drop, is he? I should have expected as much._ "I can't believe you said all that in front of everyone...well, no, I can believe it, but..."

"Aww, it's okaaaaay..." Kokichi sing-songed in reply. "I only said it because I _knew_ no one would believe me! Your big old dirty secret is tooootally safe!"

_That's definitely a lie..._ Shuichi automatically thought. But...a moment later, he wondered... _What if it wasn't?_

It made...a strange amount of sense. Kokichi obviously knew his own reputation as an untrustworthy pathological liar. If _he_ told everyone about Shuichi having a belly kink, it would make it almost impossible that anyone would ever believe it. Even if he really did have a belly kink, and it somehow got out...it would be that much more unbelievable. Everyone would just think it was some part of Kokichi's lie. Suddenly, he wondered if he should be thanking him instead.

_No. You don't congratulate someone for blurting out your secret in public. And he probably just did it to try to get back at me in some way..._ But was there such a thing as over-analyzing with Kokichi? It wouldn't help to dismiss everything he did as a simple prank.

Whatever. Shuichi decided he couldn't stand here and try to puzzle it out all morning. And maybe he was just trying too hard to find the good in him, when it might not even be there. He couldn't allow optimism to blind him... But, from last night...

Something was suddenly pressing firmly at his cheek, and Shuichi looked down to see Kokichi's wide purple eyes staring back, his finger raised and poking into him.

"You're _deeeeeeep_ in thought about something. Don't tell me you're actually seriously considering what I said. I'm not telling you, anyway, cause you're boring me."

Shuichi shrugged, stepping back and getting out of reach of his touch. He was just...done with this for now. It was too early in the morning for psychoanalysis. "I'm going to be doing some more in-depth investigation around the school today. If you want to come with me, that's fine. I don't care."

"So aloof..." Kokichi smirked. "But you were the one who lied to his girlfriend just so that you could spend more time with me. I know how much you want me, Shuichi."

"It's not like that. And Kaede's not my girlfriend. But whatever. It's pointless trying to argue with you."

"Cause I'm always right!"

Shuichi turned away, heading straight across the hall to the storage room. Already, he could feel the need for aspirin rising. Plus, there were a few other things he wanted get from there...he wasn't exactly sure if he'd find what he was looking for, but considering the vast array of junk contained in the room's boxes and shelves, it surely had to be somewhere.

Opening the blue door, he heard the tapping of Kokichi's feet behind him, following along. Apparently, he'd decided to stick by him, and he was, admittedly, glad. The two of them stepped into the storage room, glancing up at its towering stacks of who-knows-what with curiosity.

"Ooh, I get to come on an official investigation with the Ultimate Detective!" Kokichi falsely enthused. "I'll do my best to get in the way at every turn!"

".....I'm sure you will." Shuichi stepped forward, shuffling past several boxes to the rows of shelving beyond. Kokichi followed loosely behind, though he stopped here and there to look at a few things, as if considering their usefulness.

For a few sacred moments, the only sounds were the two of them poking through various rubbish, occasionally tossing things aside and sliding things out from where they were buried in the very back of shelves. Though Shuichi was grateful for the silence, another part of him felt as if he should be saying something.

_I want to talk to him about his nightmares..._ The thoughts came crawling back into his mind as he pushed aside a small pile of duffel bags. _But I know that isn't going to get anywhere. I really, really want to know... But the only way I'm ever going to find out is if I continue watching him. I'm going to have to...spend the night with him again._ The idea caused a swirl of anxiety to form in the pit of his stomach. Forcing that to happen was going to be nearly impossible. He'd already used his one chance at trapping him, and he severely doubted he'd just agree to it without any other kind of coercion involved.

_Ah!_ Shuichi found what he was looking for and yanked it out from below a stack of iron horseshoes. Dusting it off, he extended its strap and made sure it would be comfortable enough. Yes, perfect--a black messenger bag now hung from his shoulder across his chest. It would be essential for carrying things back to his room, especially if he found something interesting during this investigation and wanted to examine it later.

Shuichi was just about to turn away...but something else caught his eye, glinting on one of the lower shelves. The implications were a little...awkward. But he also desperately wanted to know. Thank goodness it still had working batteries. He clicked it on, and its display lit up, a few seconds before it was ready for use. And now...

"Kokichi...could you come over here for a minute? I want to check something."

When he turned around to look at him again, Kokichi was holding some sort of wind-up toy Monokuma with a hat and backpack, which was subtly vibrating in his arms. "Oh, so you finally need my help?! Of course you do--you're hopeless, Shuichi." He plonked it down on the nearest shelf, and it suddenly began to wave and turn its body side-to-side, all on its own. That was certainly disturbing, but...there were much more important things to take care of right now.

When Kokichi arrived at his side, his face fell for a split second. Of course, he was disappointed it wasn't something more fun and interesting. And he probably already knew what Shuichi had in mind. "....You want me to step on that. Don't you."

Sitting on the cold warehouse floor in front of them...was a silvery metal bathroom scale, its red digital display shining the word "ready" at them...waiting.

"It's for your own health," Shuichi explained, even though he knew it didn't matter to him. "I just want to make sure..."

"Nyeehee! Do you have some sort of weight and numbers fetish too? You just keep getting hornier and hornier, don't you?"

"Absolutely not." And this time, Shuichi was certain of his feelings. The only thing in his heart was concern. And he hoped Kokichi could sense that, even if he didn't care.

"Sure, sure, whatever." But...Kokichi was stepping on the soles of his shoes, sliding them off, and kicking them to the side. Shuichi had already seen them last night, but he wore bright purple foot-socks, the kind that came just below the ankle, which was why they never showed when his shoes were on. Geez, the bones of his ankles were jutting out so much...

He quietly snickered. "But if I'm too fat, I'm gonna start crying, and it'll be all your fault."

"Just...hurry up."

"Okay, okay! Pushy, pushy..."

Shuichi couldn't help subtly biting his lip as Kokichi stepped onto the scale. _Beep...beep...beeeep!_ He scurried over to read it, just before he stepped off again...and his chest tightened.

Naturally, Shuichi had read everyone's student profiles, contained in his Monopad. Among other things, they listed everyone's vital statistics--height, weight, blood type... He'd just checked it recently, out of curiosity...so he knew... He knew this wasn't right.

The digital numbers were glaring up at him, almost like a pronouncement of death. 87. 87 pounds and 10 ounces.

"Kokichi..." Shuichi's voice was cold and a little pained. "You've lost ten pounds since you got here. _Ten_. From _where_ , I dunno. I didn't think that was possible."

"I live to break everyone's expectations." Kokichi only grinned, as he shuffled back into his shoes. "What's that stupid thing Kaito's always saying? 'The impossible is possible!' You believe that nonsense, right? What a poor detective you turned out to be."

He wasn't taking it seriously again. He was trying to change the subject again. He didn't want to face the truth of his own self-destructive behaviors.

"You weigh less than Ryoma, Kokichi. _Ryoma_. You're _lighter_ than _Ryoma_."

He lifted his arms, stretching up on his toes. "Wow! I'm so light! I might just start floating! That would be fun!"

"Kokichi...Gonta could probably chuck you across the entire courtyard."

"And yet you can't even carry me up a single flight of stairs--you really are useless, Shuichi."

Deflection, once again. Shuichi would have to drop it, as sick as he felt about it. But...now he knew for sure. Kokichi really was getting dangerously underweight...and this was after last night. He'd probably gained at least a few ounces overnight...

"Nyeeheehee! It's funny how obsessed you are with my body, though!" His arms were tucked behind his head again, as usual. "But you know what I think..."

The tone of his voice was shifting slightly. Shuichi was starting to notice the differences...when he was saying something just to be an annoying little brat versus when he was actually trying to get something across. Most of the time, he couldn't _understand_ what he was trying to get across, but...at least he could tell when something had been intended. Even though Kokichi's face didn't change, the tone was the definite indication...and Shuichi concentrated to try to read between his following words.

"I think _everyone_ should get a health check. Not just me. We should all get full-blown physical checkups. Cause who knows? I think Monokuma might have implanted tiny bombs inside all of us and we just don't feel them. Or someone else could be in even worse physical shape than me, only no one knows it. What if there's a terrible infectious disease lying dormant inside one of us, just waiting for the chance to break out and destroy us all. It's totally possible, yet you haven't even considered it."

Shuichi's forehead pinched, reminding him that he still needed to find that apirin. Half of it was probably a lie. It could just mean "hey, leave me alone and worry about someone else already". Or it could be implying that Kokichi knew something about the physical states of the other students that no one else knew... Bombs seemed unlikely... An infectious disease...possible, but also pretty unlikely. Was it something else...? Of course, they'd all lost their memories from right before they were kidnapped, but...that was too simple an explanation.

"I...I'll look into it," Shuichi finally responded. "We don't have a nurse or doctor here, but I think Kirumi has some medical experience. And Kaito...knowing about the human body would be important for an astronaut."

"No need to check Kii-boy, though," Kokichi chuckled. "Cause he ain't _got_ a human body."

Thankfully, it only took a moment for Shuichi to find a small bottle of aspirin tucked into a long pill box, and he slipped it into his bag, suddenly eager to get out of this dark, claustrophobic storage room. He switched off the scale and practically dragged Kokichi out of the room with him.

_87 pounds..._ It still disturbed him. He was going to have to make extra sure that Kokichi ate lunch and dinner today. In hindsight, he probably shouldn't have let him get away with skipping breakfast. That just meant he was going to have to make up for it elsewhere.

Shuichi felt his hands beginning to itch, something pecking at his insides, squawking for attention, and with a sinking in his heart, he knew what it was. _I didn't go to the casino last night._

Of course. It had been the first time he'd ever skipped a casino night, and...it was bugging him. Like he'd somehow violated the code of his own existence. Damn...those stupid robotic bears really _had_ given him a gambling addiction. Right now, his hands, his eyes, his ears _craved_ the experience of spending coins, of watching lights and pictures spin before him.

_This is dumb. I don't need to do that._ But as ridiculous as it seemed, he unfortunately knew the truth--he wouldn't be able to concentrate fully on investigating or looking out for Kokichi if his brain kept flashing him signals to shove half his coins into a machine. The casino was so far away, though...and he had Kokichi with him, who would undoubtedly make it a thousand times more difficult. Fortunately, he remembered something else nearby that could hopefully satisfy that desperate need.

With a bit of annoyed huff to his movements, Shuichi strode over to the school store next door, yanking it open.

Kokichi hopped in after him, glancing around curiously. "What's so important about this place?"

"Nothing," Shuichi painfully admitted. But he was already emptying his pockets of Monocoins, slightly jangling them in his cupped left hand.

Kokichi scurried over to his side. "Oh, I get it! Do you have a gambling addiction, Shuichi? That's not very healthy of you either, you know."

"No, I don't. I just thought...there might be something important hidden in this machine. Like...only if we get extremely lucky will we win the special switch that lets us escape earlier than we're supposed to or something..."

"Wow, I love it when you lie to me, Shuichi, it's amazing. By which I mean I can't stand it. You're terrible. I'm _really_ going to have to give you some pointers if you ever want to be a decent liar."

Shuichi could only frown in response. He had to get this over with, receive his daily dose of gambling high and get on with it. Maybe find some pretty good gifts in here, too. He remembered the lit-up look on Kaede's face when he'd given her a special incomplete music sheet that had come out of this machine. Apparently, Monokuma must have stocked it with various items each of the students liked, so that they could exchange them and "deepen their relationships" or something. The premium gifts at the casino were no different.

Scowling, Shuichi just stepped up to the Monomono Machine and slipped his first coin into it. Ahh, there we go... The rattling noises and blinking lights on its sides were immensely satisfying, and he already felt that pickiness start to abate. _I really hate myself._

Kokichi was also watching as the capsule rolled out and Shuichi picked it up, popping it open. With a cloud of smoke and a tiny jingle, something appeared on the school store's counter--a robotic toy orca with sensors in its eyes. "Already got two more of those," Shuichi blankly stated.

"I wonder where they come from." Kokichi stretched up on his toes and tried to see behind the counter. "Monokuma must have some crazy chute-delivery system rigged to this machine. Well, we already know he's got some pretty intense tech in this place, specifically designed to make us suffer. I mean, just look at Kii-boy."

Kokichi was probably going to start whining about being bored, but...Shuichi couldn't help trying another. And another. And another. Another of the same ripped music score appeared. A broom, a magazine, a bottle of ketchup, packets used for making ginger tea, a box of sukiyaki caramels, an entire replica moon buggy, a wig, and a very sketchy-looking robot arm with a grabbing hand on the end. Kokichi was poking at the junk that appeared, probably trying to figure out where it came from and how it was being delivered, but he threw most of it aside, adding it to a slowly growing pile.

Meanwhile, Shuichi...loved the sensation of sliding the next coin into the thin little slot. The soft clinks, the feeling of it giving way and entering the chute... "Feeding the machine", they called this. Feeding... _feeding_...

Suddenly, his mind was flashing back...the memory of last night...the amazing...feeling... Sliding the fork through the small slice of Kokichi's mouth. Pushing another bite of cake in. Then another. Another. _Feeding..._ The coins between his fingers suddenly felt like small pieces of candy. The slot on the Monomono Machine was a pair of pallid lips. _Another._

_Ah!_ Shuichi shook himself out of his reverie. _What the hell?!?!_ And at that same moment...

"Oooh, a laser gun! Yoink!" The enthusiastic shout from the childish boy broke through his mind.

Kokichi hopped down from the counter, grasping a silvery sci-fi gun object in his right hand. It...wasn't a real gun, right? Shuichi hadn't actually received one of these from the machine before.

"I bet if I coerce Miu to modify this a little, it could really do some damage!"

Suddenly, he yanked his bandanna up, covering his nose and mouth like a bandit, and aimed the laser gun at the smaller of the two giraffe statues behind the counter. "Alright!" He shouted, voice slightly muffled. "This is a stickup! Hand over all your Monocoins, if you want the baby to live!"

It finally pulled Shuichi away from the Monomono Machine, and he couldn't help looking over at him, a tiny chuckle in the back of his throat. "I...wouldn't expect a supreme leader to be caught performing a common bank robbery."

"Of course not!" Kokichi re-emerged from the bandanna, ticking a reprimanding finger at him. "I have numerous subordinates to rob banks for me. But, sometimes I like to pretend...feel what's it's like to be in their lowly shoes. I bet you won't believe it, but I actually have a whole lot of empathy!"

_Huh...empathy, huh? I kinda doubt it..._ But then again, doubting it was pretty obvious. _Nah. I can't spend too much time thinking about it._

At last, Shuichi had decided that was enough. He gathered up what he could from the mound of random presents, fitting them into his messenger bag. The larger ones and the ones that wouldn't fit he left beside the broken vending machine...he'd have to come get them later, if no one else stole them. But if they ended up getting stolen, oh well--it didn't matter all that much to him. Winning was never as exciting as the actual gambling itself, for some reason. _Because you get to feed something. No. No, that's ridiculous._

Somehow, he managed to pull Kokichi away from the invisible target practice he was having with the masks on the wall.

"We got a lot of useless junk, didn't we?!" He laughed as they strolled down the school halls, side-by-side.

_Uh..."we" didn't get anything_ , Shuich thought, but decided not to argue. He was already dead-set on keeping that gun, after all. _Lord help me if anyone finds out that I gave Kokichi a gun._ For now...he was just going to have to deal with this.

Yet...he didn't resent Kokichi as much as he resented _himself_ for...his thoughts. For the first time, that one thing Rantaro had said--"can I really trust myself"--it made sense. Because these weird feelings and thoughts about Kokichi...he didn't trust them at all. He just wanted to befriend him, and that was it. Make sure he didn't kill himself, and maybe try to get him to be a _bit_ less of an asshole.

But...had Rantaro really said that? Suddenly, Shuichi wasn't even sure of his own memory. Pressure was building behind his temples, and he decided he needed to take that aspirin ASAP.

_Just calm down and forget it_ , he told himself. _It's nothing._ And maybe...he really was becoming another liar...

\---

"Heeeeeeeeey...it's about that time, isn't it?"

"Huh?"

Shuichi and Kokichi had arrived back at the main hall after taking a cursory loop through the ground floor. Nothing had really come of it, besides Shuichi's headache slightly receding after he ducked into the bathroom to take his pills. Kokichi had given him a small heart attack when he'd come back out, finding him pretending to have passed out on the floor. Fortunately, he'd given up the act immediately, so he hadn't freaked out for too long.

Glancing up at the round school clock above the main entrance, Shuichi noted that it was almost 12:30 in the afternoon. _It's time for lunch_ , he thought. _But I doubt that's what_ he's _talking about..._

"Um...I'm a little afraid to ask, but...time for what?"

"You don't remember, Shuichi?!" Kokichi put on a face of mock offense. "I can't believe it! And I thought we were friends!" He huffed and planted his fists on his hips, glaring up at him and moving slightly closer. "Now's the time I always have afternoon tea! It's a standard practice in my organization, and I'd _never_ forget it, unlike _you_! I let you in on that little secret, and yet you couldn't even remember that much about me? You're terrible."

"Uh..." A tiny part of Shuichi actually felt bad. He knew it wasn't true, but...if Kokichi really _had_ entrusted him with something, the last thing on this earth he would do was betray his trust. "But...you never told me anything about that before."

"Haha, of course not! That was obviously a lie! Why would I ever tell you?" Kokichi made an about-face, already striding in the direction of the dining hall on his spindly legs. "No matter, let's go! We got a ton of tea packets from that machine you love so much, right? We can use those. Hurry up!"

With a bit of dazed confusion, Shuichi followed after him. Was that really...a thing? Was that not a lie? Did his organization really have a mandatory tea break? That didn't sound like any shadowy crime syndicate he'd ever heard of. And the surprises just kept coming.

Kokichi prodded him into taking the packets of ginger tea from his bag, and immediately hopped into the kitchen, putting a kettle on and fetching a couple of porcelain cups. This was so weird... He'd never thought of Kokichi as a tea drinker. He was always chugging that fizzy, sugary grape stuff, after all. He'd have thought tea was too bitter and too "boring" for him. Teatime was more suited to...someone calm and refined...someone not Kokichi. Shuichi didn't mind, of course--he really enjoyed a quiet teatime himself, but...this just didn't seem to make sense to him.

Neverthless, Kokichi was smiling as he brought the boiling kettle out with a pot holder and poured it out for them both.

"Um...thank you?"

"Nyeeheehee, don't thank me yet! Wait until you see what I slipped in there while you weren't looking!"

_Never a dull moment, I guess_.

Shuichi tasted the water, making sure that there really wasn't anything weird in it, and mixed in his tea, watching closely as Kokichi did the same. Then, the smaller boy also dumped in several packets of sugar and a teaspoon of milk, thoroughly stirring it in before gently blowing on it and taking a tiny sip. _Ah, well...I guess that explains it a little..._

He started telling him an overblown story about people who had died protecting him from poisoned drinks and someone else in his organization who actually used hot water as a weapon. Despite the things he said, he just sat there, peacefully sipping from the cup and looking pleased, if he really was. It was so strange, seeing him drinking tea like this...like a normal person.

_No, I shouldn't let myself get caught up in any certain image of him_ , Shuichi told himself. And it was true--Kokichi had as many different facets to him as a 20-sided die, and it was always a crapshoot guessing which number he would land on. In fact, he probably _wanted_ everyone to only see one side of him.

Shuichi slowly drank his ginger tea, letting its warmth soothe his nerves from the inside. He needed to stop worrying--just go with the flow again. Who cared if he had some strange feeding fixation? Kokichi hadn't abandoned him yet. He wasn't trapped this time--he could leave any time he wanted to. And...it didn't matter what he thought about him anyway. All that mattered was for him to figure him out and protect him from himself...

"Oh? Well, isn't this an unusual sight..."

A soft third voice suddenly spoke out, and Shuichi turned, taking in the sight of an unexpected visitor in the doorway. The tall figure of Korekiyo Shinguji glided into the dining hall, looking to the two of them with curiosity in his narrow eyes.

"Shuichi and Kokichi...enjoying a pleasant teatime? I do hope I'm not interrupting anything..."

"Nope!" Kokichi easily chirped. "Shuichi was just giving me an intensive interrogation! It's a good thing you saved me, Kiyo, or I might've given away _alllll_ my secrets! Phew, that was a close one!"

Shuichi rolled his eyes, hoping the creepy-looking anthropologist would catch on.

"Well then...I suppose you won't mind if I join you?" Korekiyo moved towards the kitchen, possibly to fix some tea for himself as well.

"Ah, hey." A fourth voice piped up, announcing another arrival, and this time, it was Rantaro, looking slightly flustered. "Didn't expect all of you guys to be here. I was just coming in for an afternoon snack. Is it alright if I sit with you?"

"Uh, sure--"

"No way!" Kokichi snapped, over Shuichi's admission. "Shuichi and I were having a wonderful, romantic date together, and you nerds had to bust in here and ruin it!"

Korekiyo had just returned with the teakettle, and he gave Kokichi an incredulous glare, as if to say "but you just said it was an interrogation."

"Haha. Oh, sorry." Rantaro scratched the side of his head, fluffing his yellow-green hair. "But from the look on Shuichi's face right now, I'd say that was the first he'd heard of such a date, too."

_Wait, what? What does my face look like?_ "Y-yeah," he spoke, nevertheless. "He's just being Kokichi. We'd like if you both joined us."

"Hey, don't speak for me!" Kokichi objected. "How dare you just _assume_ I'd be okay with it, you insensitive bastard...... But, that's a lie, I don't really care."

Sometimes...he said things just to get Shuichi to start to panic, before turning them around. It was...frustrating, but in a way, he sort of appreciated it. At least he didn't drag out a lie that would make him truly feel terrible.

And so, Korekiyo and Rantaro fetched their own tea and came to join them. Rantaro brought out a tray of scones, English biscuits, and finger sandwiches that Kirumi had prepared earlier, and the four of them sat around the table, enjoying a fairly nice little teatime gathering. At one point, Tenko popped in to grab some food, but she didn't stay for more than a second, as the room was filled with filthy men anyway. Korekiyo gave them all a few short lectures about tea rituals from different cultures, and Shuichi genuinely found them pretty interesting.

As he looked across the table, though, he couldn't help noticing how tiny Kokichi looked, sitting near the two of them. It didn't help that he was still underweight, too. And of course, when their eyes met, Kokichi just had to _do_ something.

He took up one of the scones...and stared straight at him as he began to bring it slowly, slowly, _slowly_ up towards his mouth. A smirk stretched across his lips, his taunting eyes twinkling, as his motions slowed even further the closer it got. His lips parted just a centimeter, and the flaky crust was almost touching...

_Dammit, just eat it already!_ Shuichi clenched his teeth at him, hoping that Rantaro wasn't witnessing this creepy exchange. _Stop trying to tease me, and just eat it like a normal human being._

"Eehee!" Kokichi burst into giggles and suddenly yanked the scone away at the last second. "Did you really want it that badly, Shuichi? You look like you're ready to kill me! It really would be a disappointment if a murder occurred over something so petty, you know."

"Ah..." He was trying to make it look like he was only taunting him because he'd wanted it first.

"Well, the scones really are pretty delicious," Rantaro vaguely agreed. He'd already eaten two of them himself. "I can't blame him."

"Uh...no, it's fine. I insist." Shuichi suddenly thought of a response. "You can have that one, Kokichi. I was just kidding."

"Pff, boring." He dropped it back onto the table, displaying an annoyed expression. "Now I don't even want it anymore."

_Oh, for the love of... Just eat it, you little...!_ Maybe...he would have to use reverse psychology instead. Or at least make it look like he was using reverse psychology, and hope he played along.

"Anyway, what I _really_ wanted was one of these sandwiches," Shuichi deliberately announced. "They look wonderful...." Then...slowly and purposefully, he began to reach for the sandwich towards the center of the plate. He didn't dare look up. This had to seem unscripted. This had to seem natural, even if it wasn't on either side. Shuichi gulped, praying his plan would work. And...

"I'll take that!" Quick as a wink, Kokichi lifted from his seat and swiped the sandwich, stuffing it directly into his mouth. "Sowwy! Too bah, Shuishi!" He spoke through puffed-out full cheeks.

And Shuichi had to fight not to let his happiness show on his face. "W-What?!"

"You two seem to be getting along," Rantaro observed, with a slight chuckle.

"What part of this looks like we're getting along?!" Shuichi objected, though his insides were warming with glad relief.

Kokichi chewed and swallowed the mini-sandwich down, grinning the whole time, and he wondered if he'd anticipated his plan and had just decided to appease him. Probably. He was that quick-witted, after all. _Good. Thank goodness. Thank you, Kokichi. Please...please eat._

"So, Rantaro," Kokichi turned his attention to the blue-shirted boy beside them, and Shuichi's heart did a little flip when he actually took up another scone and took a tiny bite out of it. "You learn anything at all about your talent yet?"

_He's eating by himself. He's eating because I'm here and he knows I want him to eat. He's actually...eating...normally._

Though there was someone else who _wouldn't_ eat "normally". It was really strange, the way biscuits and scones just seemed to _disappear_ at Korekiyo's mouth zipper. It wasn't even unzipped--he was just sort of _absorbing_ its essence. You would assume his mask would be slightly wet from drinking the tea...but there wasn't a drop on it. Weird...really, really weird. It was certainly mysterious, but he didn't find it _appealing_ , like when Kokichi... _No, I don't think it's appealing._

"No, I'm afraid not," Rantaro finally answered. "I've been staring at my lab door, but it just isn't coming to me."

"It's still locked, right?" Shuichi added. That was something he also had to look into. For some untold reason, Rantaro's Ultimate Lab was the only one no one could access. It didn't make any sense--Monokuma had let everyone know that their labs should remain open as long as they were alive, but... Then again, Angie's lab still had locks on it, though she was in control of those, as she'd received the key right at day one.

"...Do you think you might be able to pick it open, Kokichi?"

"Duh, don't you think I've already tried? How stupid can you be, Shuichi?" Kokichi finished another bite of scone and leaned back, tipping his chair a little. "The stupid thing has an electronic locking component--it's basically impossible to get around with just lockpicking."

"Then maybe Miu--"

"I doubt Monokuma wouldn't have some sort of alarm on that thing too, if it's that important that it stay closed."

"From the appearance of that door, however, you may be better off not knowing your talent." Korekiyo spoke for the first time in a while. He daintily dabbed at his mask, apparently finished with his tea. "You may have been a madman, a master of blood sacrifices, or even a serial killer."

"Wow, that would be awesome! Maki would have some competition, then!" Kokichi seemed nothing but amused by the prospect.

"Aha. I doubt that. Just look at me. It doesn't suit my personality at all. But I appreciate you guys trying to help. Though...I think I want to figure it out on my own. It's personal to me, and I want to be the one to discover it first...okay?"

"Aww," Kokichi chewed and swallowed his last piece of scone, to Shuichi's delight. "Balls. Oh well. And you're sure you haven't gotten any kind of hints or anything?"

"No...if I had, I might have been able to remember something by now."

"Have you tried looking in some books? Like, on talents or anything?"

"That never occurred to me, but I suppose I could try. It wouldn't hurt, though I kind of doubt anything will come of it."

That was when Shuichi noticed...the way Kokichi was looking at Rantaro. His eyes were slightly squeezing in, not exactly squinting, but not exactly relaxed either. His mouth was tightly pinched in concentration. It was like...he was _analyzing_ him...trying to glean some sort of understanding from him. It was cold, deep, and calculating, and he knew something else must be going on in that chaotic head of his. The stare was so intense, he half-expected sparks to start flying out of his eyes.

Then, a moment later, it was gone, replaced by another snarky smile. "Oh, I got it! I know what your talent is! You're the Ultimate Waste of Space!"

The insult just rolled off Rantaro's back, and he calmly set down his finished tea cup. "That may be true. We'll never know."

"Nyeeheehee! Well, anyways, Rantaro, if you ever get frustrated with your existence and need somebody to vent to, I'm always here! ......That's a lie, though."

After that, their teatime began to wind down. Korekiyo was the first to leave, though Rantaro stuck around for a little longer, finishing the final mini-sandwich, before he eventually disappeared too. Shuichi cleaned up the dirty cups, because Kokichi sure as hell wasn't going to do it, and led him back out to the hall.

Their investigation continued with the second and third floor, but Kokichi wouldn't stop teasing him about how happy he'd been to see him eat. Plus, he couldn't help mulling over that strange interaction with Rantaro.

_He doesn't actually_ know _anything about him, does he? It didn't seem that way, yet... It was like he was trying to see if_ Rantaro _knew something. Does he think he's lying about not remembering his talent? I suppose that's a possibility, but... I just feel that he genuinely doesn't know. But I know there's no way I could ever try to talk to Kokichi about it._

Shuichi decided he had to keep forging ahead. The only way...would be to get Kokichi to trust him, if that was even possible. Sometimes he felt as if the more he learned, the less he understood. But he wouldn't let the confusion get in his way. He was on the right track.

Well, maybe...

\---

Floor Four. The most incongruent and disturbing location in the entire school structure--and that included Maki's weapons cache. The whole horror-movie atmosphere didn't sit well with Shuichi...not that he was afraid of it, but he was more afraid of what its intended purpose might be. It put the thought of murder, of vengeance, of anguish and death into their minds, as cheap as some of the imagery might be.

As a detective, things like ghosts and spirits didn't faze him, but at the same time, he wanted to understand the perspectives of people who did believe in such things. That was why he agreed to search through Korekiyo and Angie's labs, at Kokichi's request. During their investigation of the previous floors, he'd left out ultimate labs on purpose, since he felt like going through someone's lab while they weren't there was a bit of an invasion of privacy. Yet, the two of them looked through some of the various art supplies and cultural treasures stored within these two, though Shuichi had to stop Kokichi from ruining carefully preserved artifacts on several occasions. Nothing seemed particularly suspicious or out of place--well, except for an indescribable half-finished oil painting Shuichi had uncovered that nearly made his headache come back.

Kokichi carelessly tossed aside sets of expensive professional pens and ancient handmade dolls, not finding anything of value to him either. Oh well...at least they were trying. And at least they were spending time together without breaking into stubborn mind games or getting entirely sick of each other's presence.

As they traveled back from Angie's lab, Shuichi thought over the day's events. It had been his goal to get to know Kokichi better, but... _was_ he even getting anywhere? It was hard to tell. On one hand, he hadn't switched out his annoying, teasing little brat persona yet all day...and he knew it was just one of several personas he possessed. But on the other...he'd eaten a small lunch of his own accord. He could have just dodged Shuichi's attempts to get him to eat and bantered with the other two boys so they wouldn't notice or care. Did that mean his efforts were getting through to him?

They slipped back into the darker, wooden section, leaving the gory fake-blood walls and shrine behind. Shuichi always found this area more tense and distressing...the light was low, the floorboards squeaked just a bit here and there, and the scent of musty, stale wood hung in the air...

Apparently unaffected, Kokichi hopped on ahead of him, so light that the floor barely made a sound as he leapt from foot to foot.

Shuichi stared at his back...the criss-crossed strings that laced up the back of his shirt, the single short chain that hung from the end...he wasn't sure if his outfit was meant to resemble a straightjacket, but that was almost what it looked like. Insane, prone to mental fits, dangerous...or just what he wanted people to believe. Yet, Shuichi could only see it as the uniform of someone very ill, someone definitely in need of care...someone mixing suffering with laughter, splashes of color in a white padded room. Through the upturned strands of Kokichi's hair, he could see the back of his ear, the short, thin nape of his neck before the rest of it buried into his bandanna. Porcelain white and delicate...

_Why...do I feel this need to protect him?_ Shuichi wondered. He knew with absolute certainty that he would, but...why? He'd never done anything to warrant it. He certainly hadn't earned it. Was it just his fragile appearance? His unhealthiness? Or was there anything more to it? All he knew was that when he looked at him like this, in the silence, his heart ached. His heart ached to...see his fragility, separated from his unending deluge of lies and insults.

Wrapped up in these thoughts, he didn't even notice at first... It took Shuichi a few second to realize, to hear it, to pick it up...and a strange awed uncertainty slithered through his lungs.

Kokichi was... Kokichi was singing. It was just a quiet hum at first, his soft voice wavering between registers...but it started to grow and grow.

Shuichi followed, into the hallway with the three empty rooms, the notes of that voice ghosting out over the shadowy walls, creating an even more mystifying aura. Spirits...if they did exist, he could feel them in the darkness, in the creeping sounds that emanated from Kokichi's unearthly white throat. And then...they intensified...and became haunting words...

" _Younnng guard dog and lii-ttle lost girl, sealed wiith-iin an ii-ron cage..._ "

_What...what is this?_ A part of Shuichi's heart felt as if it were freezing. He'd never heard this song before...but it echoed into his soul, shaking the foundations of his consciousness, sliding through him like a hypnotic melody. And...it _belonged_ here. Here, in this exact spot, in this exact space in this entire world. He'd opened up a core piece of existence...and it was singing.

" _At moun-tain's booo-ttom, wiii-thin the daark-ness... At laaast, aaaat laaast, at long laaaast... How maa-ny willll there bee-eee by daaawn? Willl there beee twoo or just oone?_ "

As Shuichi stood stock-still near the first door, Kokichi halted, just past the second...and slowly, with a gravity, with a depth he couldn't explain, he turned...meeting his trembling eyes and ensnaring them, capturing his entire soul.

" _Wiiill the guard dog ruun far aa-way, or diiid it eaat the li-ttle giiirl?_ "

His lips scarcely moved. The faintest remnants of a smile lingered at the very edges. And the purple pools of his eyes felt they would swallow Shuichi's being, swirling his mind within them for the remainder of time. He couldn't breathe. It was rising, spilling into his throat, and it felt as if the walls were bending, the ground, the space around the two of them was warping, melting into something else.

That voice...those slender lips moved with precision, suspended in a blurred, painted dimension that might have been now. The final line.

" _...........Aaaat laaast, at laaaast, at long laaaaaaaaaast......_ "

A cluster of still air shot itself into Shuichi's lungs. Kokichi's face filled his entire vision. The smallest smile pressed onto it. _Something. Something is here. Something...something..._ And then...

Another flash. Another sudden tilt and rush and throb. And fresh, bright, glistening blood was streaked down Kokichi's face, matting his bangs, trailing from his hairline, coating his cheeks, a terrible visage in the darkness. He wore the same cheery little smile, even as more blood began to ooze and bubble from his forehead. This much blood.....all this blood...

The hazy, floating, twisted world shattered. And Shuichi's body moved before he even told it to move.

" _K-Kokichi_!" A rush of air flashed past him as he surged forward...and his hands clasped tightly around Kokichi's head, holding it steady, holding it from bleeding out, holding it from dropping to the ground. He couldn't see. Nothing else mattered. Panic seized his system, heart thrusting blood through his veins, as if yearning to give itself over. ".....O-O-OhmyGod! Kokichi! What... Y-You need help! Now!"

Shuichi's fingers forcefully raked through Kokichi's hair, combing his bangs out of his face...desperately searching for the wound. Oh God. Oh God, oh God, oh God... "Kokichi..." Maybe if he voiced his name, it would keep him here, keep his life from leaking away.

And the dreamlike feeling in his body was drifting off, leaving him settling back into his faculties. The panic was suddenly ebbing...because as his vision focused, he realized...

There was nothing there. No wound...no blood at all. Just the bare, exposed skin of Kokichi's forehead...and purple eyes staring up at him, so wide that they were rimmed with white.

"Uh...um...ah...ahh...uh..." Shuichi found his body quivering, a heaviness behind his eyes announcing gathering tears. _What...what in the world...?_

But...it was just like that time before...just like when he'd seen a bandage on Kokichi's fingers, his brain certain that his hand had been injured. He'd...he'd hurt his head...really badly. He'd hit his head on something. Something in this very area. But...but he hadn't. He was perfectly fine. There wasn't a trace of blood there, not even a scar or bruise. But he _had_. With overwhelming certainty, Shuichi knew it had happened.

Kokichi was completely silent. His blank face was going over every single nook of Shuichi's eyes, trying to pry himself inside. Carefully watching, waiting...for what? A pull at the edges of his eyelids suggested surprise...but why wasn't there more?

Shuichi let his fingers slide down, releasing the bundle of Kokichi's bangs, though he still kept his hands cupped just above his ears. A part of him felt that if he let go, all the blood would come spilling back out of him again. The awful vision would return.

"Your...head... You were injured.... You were...bleeding a lot. In this hallway. You could have died. You...you collapsed..." The thought, the memory of Kokichi lying on this floor, in a small pool of blood...it was fitting itself into his brain. He could see him laughing, weakly, his eyes dulled, losing their light... "Ohmygosh, Kokichi... Are you really okay?"

Barely visible, a shudder pinched Kokichi's shoulders. He stared. He just stared. Silent. Completely silent. Just when Shuichi's desperation decided he would have to try to force answers out of him, it broke.

".......Hahaha! Ahahahahahahahahahahahaha!" Kokichi burst into uproarious laughter, his thin body shaking. "Eheehee...heeheeheeeheeheehee!" He ducked his head, shaking off Shuichi's hands and burying his mouth in his bandanna. His arms wrapped around himself, holding his sides together. " _Eee_ heeheeheehee! Oh gosh! Oh gosh, Shuichi... You're hilarious. Ahahahaha!"

Though worry still tinged his heart, Shuichi's thoughts began to sour. _How can he just_ laugh _at this? This isn't a laughing matter! This is really serious!_ His expression darkened. His hands began to clench at his sides.

"Ahaha...eheh..." Kokichi's laughing finally slowed, and he wiped a small tear from his left eye. When he looked back to him again, his face was the same as always. "Now it's my head? You're having crazy delusions again, Shuichi. And...and all of them involve me being injured somehow. I'm starting to think you really do want to hurt me. Are you a sadist, too? Ahahahaha! Oh, this just gets better and better."

"No." Shuichi pushed a stark seriousness into his voice. "I wanted to make sure you were okay. Perhaps it's because I was worried about you. But I don't ever want to hurt you."

"Nyeeheehee, yeah, sure." Kokichi took a step back, and it was then that Shuichi noticed how close they had been standing.

He lifted a secretive finger to his smirking mouth and gave him a sideways glare. "You don't have to hide it, Shuichi. I understand. It's cause you wanna take care of me, right? You have that need to care for people weaker than you. You love pathetic and hurting people. You love to see me in pain, so that you can tend to it. Come to my rescue. I had a subordinate like that once. He cut off his girlfriend's legs just so he could help her in her wheelchair and keep her in bed and bring her everything she needed..."

"That's disgusting," Shuichi spat. He glared down with intensity, trying to show him the utter lack of flush, embarrassment, or uncertainty in his countenance. "He should be in jail. And I know you refuse to believe that I could possibly care about you just because I do, but that's absolutely the only reason."

"Nyeehee, yup. Just keep telling yourself that."

Once more, Suhichi felt like hugging him and slapping him simultaneously, and he wondered if this was just the default Kokichi feeling.

"Anyway," he abruptly changed the subject, tired of trying to argue with him. "What was that song you were singing? I feel like...I've heard it somewhere before."

"Oh, it's nothing." Kokichi shrugged and tucked his arms behind his neck again. "It's just some weird, creepy song I heard somewhere once. I thought it would go great with this spooky atmosphere, and I was totally right! It really freaked you out! That was soooo funny! That was the highlight of my day right there!"

Nothing in his voice or appearance seemed like an indicator, but...Shuichi deeply felt that he was lying. Why would he have been so deliberate, so careful about it, if it had just been a prank? Kokichi did take his pranks pretty seriously, but...it _meant_ something. He knew it. Just another mystery he'd never give him the answer to.

However...before he could try to pry any other nuggets of information out of him, a series of sudden cartoonish _sproing_ sounds announced the arrival of three Monokubs, popping out of seemingly nowhere. Leave it to those tiny troublemakers to interrupt just when they were getting somewhere...

Shuichi and Kokichi both turned towards them in surprise. Just where the heck had they been hiding, anyway? How on earth did their robotic bodies squeeze themselves between floorboards and through walls? Maybe they were better off not knowing...

"Oooooh!" Monophanie spoke first, Monotaro and Monosuke behind her. "What is this exciting development? Is a spark of _love_ blossoming in this spooky old school?"

"Has Shuichi been cheatin' on Kaede?! What a skeevy little bastard!" Monosuke added, pushing at his glasses.

"And after they even proposed to each other last week, and Kaede found out she was pregnant and everything!" Monotaro panicked.

"What the--?!" Shuichi's poor mind was already so off-kilter that he couldn't deal with their antics. "Kokichi and I aren't--!"

"Nyeeheehee, Shuichi's such a liiiiiar!" Kokichi only cackled. "He was _soooooo_ close to me just now, I thought he was gonna kiss me! And I know he totally wanted to! What a nasty cheater! Buuuuut I don't mind that..."

"No!" Shuichi desperately objected, and despite himself, his cheeks were beginning to burn. "I would never kiss you! And Kaede and I aren't even in that kind of relationship! You've got everything wrong!"

"Oh, oh, look at him blush!" Monophanie happily cried, hopping a little closer to him. "It's love, it's love!"

"Don't worry, we're hip with youse kids today," Monosuke proclaimed. "Guy-on-guy is perfectly admissible. I bet those nasty fangirls out there will eat this up! What a business op!"

"It's not what it looks like!" Shuichi desperately added.

"Oh! What a classic line! It's so cliche, it's perfect!" Monophanie threw a flower into the air in celebration.

Before Shuichi could splutter out any more excuses, Kokichi hopped forward, crouching to the Monokubs' level and cupping his hands around his mouth as if whispering to them, though his voice didn't lower at all. "Hey, hey...you wanna know all the dirty details about me and Shuichi's sordid love affair, huh? I can give you an exclusive peek...I'll tell you allllll about it..."

Monophanie squealed, while Monotaro continued freaking out about Kaede, and Monosuke stared intensely, gripping his wad of play money, as if preparing to hand it over for the sweet inside scoop.

"But first...you all gotta rip off your heads and smash them on the floor! That's the only payment I'll accept!"

"Okay!" Monotaro cried, already reaching for his head.

"Monotaro, no!" Monophanie stopped him just in time. "If you do that, you'll die!"

"Idiot!" Monosuke cried out. "Can't you tell he's just jerkin' us around?!"

"Maaaan, so close..." Kokichi scratched one finger against the floor with feigned disappointment. "Oh well! Looks like you're not getting that exclusive interview. And everyone at home knows it's all your fault!"

"Oh no..." Monophanie sniffled.

"No matter!" Monosuke decided, puffing his chest and looking into an unseen camera. "Ya'll gotta tune in next week, when we'll drag the truth out of this lyin' turd! See yas there!"

Kokichi just snickered and stood back beside Shuichi as the small robot bears finally turned and began to bounce off down the hallway.

"Kokichi and Shuichi sitting in a tree..."

"P-I-S-S-I-N-G!"

"Eww! How nasty! That's not how it goes!"

"Yeah, this ain't _that_ kinda story. Ya got the wrong fetish, dumbass."

"......Now look what you've done." Shuichi couldn't help the exasperated tone in his voice as he slowly calmed his heart. "They're never going to leave us alone now."

"Oh, and you want to be _alone_ with me, huuuuh?"

Shuichi glared back at his cheeky smile, frankly exhausted. And the day was only half-over. How on earth we he going to survive the entire thing?

"Aw, don't give me that look," Kokichi waved a bony hand at him. "It's so fun lying like that. One day, I'll get you to accept your lying nature and have fun with it, like I do!"

_Well, that's a day I hope never comes._

It took a little while, but Shuichi eventually got his mind in order again. They both decided they'd had enough of the fourth floor and headed back to the staircase leading to the fifth. Stepping away...leaving behind the crawling maw of the mystery behind them. The deep, confused mystique of it all.

Yet...Shuichi carried something away. A seed of truth, a piece of discovery. He hadn't a clue why he was having these visions, these memories, but...they were important. These were memories not triggered by a flashback light, memories triggered just by being with Kokichi. Why were they both of moments when he'd injured himself? Was that _why_ he felt such a strong desire to protect him?

"It's a lie!" He heard his voice sing out as the vision of him suddenly lifted his blood-soaked head. Maki had been with him, he realized. He and Maki had discovered him facedown on the floor. _When? When did that happen?!_ It _had_ happened, but... _when_ and _why_?

Shuichi couldn't dwell on it too much right now. He and Kokichi had arrived at the cathedral-themed top floor, and now, there was more to be done. But the experience was still reverberating through Shuichi's heart.

The answers were lying somewhere on the other side of his consciousness, somewhere within Kokichi's being. And as the Ultimate Detective...no, as Shuichi Saihara...he yearned to uncover them more than anything.


	3. To Accept

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay! This chapter took a little bit longer, because I had to make sure I finished my Saiouma Exchange fic first. Now, unfortunately, the chapter after this will also take a while, because I'm going to be extremely busy.
> 
> But! If anyone just so happens to be going to Anime Boston this Easter weekend, I'll be there, cosplaying as Shuichi and giving out Friendship Fragments. Don't be afraid to say hi! It would make me so happy!
> 
> WARNING: An extensive feeding/stuffing scene begins after the paragraph where Kokichi says "Here's the dealio" and continues until the section break (---) This fic IS still meant to be about 40% kink.
> 
> Said feeding scene was heavily inspired by a similar scene from "Sans' Sin Quest", an amazing Undertale belly kink fic that has inspired me a lot! I honestly am not even sure what the sukiyaki caramels actually are--I just portrayed them as small candies, though that's probably inaccurate.
> 
> Fun fact: Shuichi actually doesn't get a single correct answer during the "game". Kokichi's intended answers are all very different....
> 
> Thank you so much for reading thus far! I appreciate comments and kudos so very much!!

Chapter 3: To Accept

 

"Hey...have you read all of these?" A question. A seemingly innocent, regular question with a seemingly simple, normal answer. Amazing. An incredible breakthrough.

After taking a quick glance around the fifth floor and examining the lock on Rantaro's lab door again, Shuichi had decided to allow Kokichi come to his own lab with him. It had never been locked, after all, so it wasn't a big deal. Though it still felt weird, inviting him into a room that contained numerous terrible poisonous substances. But then again, he'd already given him the casing to a laser gun--why not give him access to even more potential murder instruments?

For the past few moments, he'd been surprisingly quiet, looking over the corner bookshelf. It was the very first thing he'd taken an interest in, and it was rather unsettling. Nevertheless...a quieter Kokichi was a good Kokichi...or, at least, he thought it was.

"Uh...no, I haven't." Shuichi honestly responded. "I would like to, but...it would take weeks to read through all of them. And I suspect they're just test cases, you know? Like, fictional cases that were only intended for practice. I don't know how Monokuma--or the Mastermind controlling him--would have gathered this many confidential police files, anyway."

"Hmm."

That was a rather...lackluster response from _Kokichi_. He should have been laughing at his "incompetence", calling him a failure as a detective, et cetera. Was something _bothering_ him? When Shuichi glanced back at the corner shelf, he took in the sight of Kokichi holding one of the binders open in his arm, flipping through the pages and looking thoughtful...or annoyed, he couldn't tell which.

"Did you...?" He'd meant to ask "did you find something?", but he let the end of that sentence die in his throat. Even if Kokichi _had_ found something, he knew he'd never share it with him. Even if he'd found something extremely important, something that could help all of them escape this very minute, he'd never say a word about it. And that was the most infuriating thing of all about him. Shuichi wanted him to trust him, confide in him...but that was miles and miles away, and he wondered if they'd ever be able to reach that point.

"The Mastermind is pretty careless, then." Kokichi finally spoke, ignoring his unfinished question. Subtly, Shuichi noticed his forehead pinching. He was starting to become familiar enough with his face to pick up on the smallest of changes. "This file is incomplete. It's missing pictures, documents, testimonies... What a half-assed job they did slapping this together."

With that, Kokichi threw the file binder onto the armchair, narrowly missing Shuichi's knee, where he was standing before the fireplace. "Why aren't you more pissed off about this? They should've had way more respect for your profession."

"Well...I never actually checked all the files...so I wouldn't know if some of them were incomplete." Why did Kokichi seem so irked about it? Had he been looking for something in particular, only to find it missing? Or was he just disappointed in the Mastermind's lack of evil Mastermind machinations? Did he think he could've done a better job? Maybe...

"Tch." Kokichi clenched his teeth. "They were probably right to disrespect you, then. You're a lazy, pathetic excuse for a detective if you've never even spared a glance at your own damn case files. You're more like the Ultimate Layabout."

_Ah, there it is._ Shuichi should probably feel insulted, but...regrettably, he was getting so used to Kokichi trying to hurt him with personal attacks that he was just sort of shrugging it off. In the past--even just five days ago, in fact--he might've felt crushed on the inside. His self-esteem might've taken damage, he might've crawled further into a shell of self-doubt, further hiding his face and his mind. But now...he just didn't care.

It was probably just because of Kaede and Kaito's support, but...he felt in his heart now that he was worth something. His skills, his ideas, his resolve...they were useful and worthwhile and they truly meant something. So Kokichi's attempts to tear him down wouldn't work. Kokichi would just be Kokichi. Anxiously, he realized that this definitely wasn't the sort of thing anyone should ever grow accustomed to, but...he couldn't let these little moments affect him too much...otherwise, he'd be a wreck by now, and he'd never get anywhere with this tentative friendship.

Curious, Shuichi moved beside the chair and reached down to thumb through the file himself. He'd been telling the truth--there were lumpy, fibrous sections in certain places where it looked like something had been torn out. A few plastic pockets were empty. A few tiny holes dotted the pages, where some things had been cut out with scissors. Why had it been so important to hide parts of this file? Was it just _this_ file, or were there other files like this? And was there some significance to it, or was it just supposed to be part of his training? Some sort of "fill in the blanks yourself, detective" test? Yet, part of him was slightly grateful to Kokichi for bringing it to his attention. Maybe he really should look a little closer...

When Shuichi glanced back in the direction of the smaller boy, though, his heart nearly leapt into his throat. "Ah--!"

Kokichi was literally climbing up the shelves to reach the top row of files, hoisting himself up on the small ledges and stretching his arm up. He quickly snatched two heavy binders, which nearly toppled onto his head, and hopped back down, meeting Shuichi's eyes with innocent, wide, purple ones of his own.

_He_ could _have just_ asked _me to get it for him..._ But no...he was far too prideful and too distrusting to ever do so. "...That was really dangerous, you know."

"Oh, no worries." Kokichi only snickered. "I know that if I slipped or anything, my _knight in shining armor_ would come to my immediate rescue!"

Shuichi tightly frowned. Wonderful. Now there was something else for him to constantly tease him about.

Kokichi quickly flipped through the two files, apparently finding nothing of any real interest, and tossed them onto the chair with the first one. "I'm taking these back with me," he willfully announced, and began to cram them into Shuichi's messenger bag, which was currently sitting on the floor beside the rocking chair.

"Uh...thanks for letting me know when you're just taking my stuff without my permission."

"You're welcome, pal!" Naturally, Kokichi was unaffected by his sarcasm, and just slid over to the chemical table, an excited light in his eyes. Well...he was having a good time, apparently...but at what cost?

Shuichi liked to think that he wouldn't do anything stupid with such dangerous substances, but...he _would_ try to use things like sleeping pills or laughing gas for an insane prank. He made up his mind to thoroughly check his bag for any suspicious bottles or tabs before they left.

Shuichi took a seat in the armchair and pulled out one of the other two files Kokichi had risked his life for. Its inside cover was stamped with a number one, indicating it as the first in this series. The crime scenes were all illustrations, as were the suspect profiles and the images of relevant evidence. That would usually indicate that these murders were committed before photographic technology was available, and yet... The sort of technology used in these cases was certainly modern and up-to-date. Card readers, vitamin pills, a lamp, a screwdriver, a refrigerator, a timed sprinkler system... It didn't seem to make sense, that these cases were only depicted in drawings. The first file--Shuichi noticed its inside stamp read "fifty-two"--was certainly filled with photos, although several were apparently gone. Maybe _that_ was why Kokichi had decided to take them. He had to think they were some sort of clue, but...to _what_?

All the same, Shuichi started feeling slightly ill the more he stared at these images. He'd never thought of himself as the squeamish type--in his line of work, he couldn't afford to be. But something about these illustrations dragged at his insides, as if something was trying to claw its way out of him, and he swiftly snapped the file shut, stuffing it back into the bag. If they were so important, he'd let Kokichi figure it out...and then, never let him know.

_Tap tp tap tap...tp tmp tap..._ Speaking of Kokichi...

_Tp tap...tmp tmp tp...._

What in the world was he _doing_?

Shuichi took a moment to actually focus on Kokichi and watch his actions...observe his behavior. He had a multitude of small glass bottles, presumably poison, spread over the table in some sort of indecipherable arrangement. And he was moving them around, tapping them around and over others, picking one up and sliding it to a certain location. It almost looked like...he was playing a game of chess with himself, using the bottles as substitute pawns and knights and such. He would pause and consider the "board" before picking up another bottle and tapping it into place.

Did...Did Kokichi like chess? _I really shouldn't be surprised by that...it kind of makes sense. I just wouldn't have thought... I mean, it's such a calm, intellectuals' game...but I thought the same about the tea, after all._ Shuichi really should have pieced that together already--Kokichi enjoyed mind games, after all...and his bandanna even resembled a chessboard. In fact, before meeting him for the first time, if Shuichi had had to guess his talent, he might've tried "Ultimate Chessmaster". In that case...

Shuichi formed a tiny smile as he continued watching Kokichi's solo game. Personally, he enjoyed a game of chess every now and then himself. His uncle had taught him to play in the rare hours when they didn't have any work, and it was just a small skill he was proud of, independent of his "talent". He definitely wouldn't say he was _good_ at chess, but he could at least hold a game with someone and have a good time with it. It was nice...knowing he'd found something he and Kokichi had in common--something they could do together that they both might enjoy. He'd have to ask him for a game sometime...even though he might cheat or pull some other weird trick. Nothing involving Kokichi was ever simple or easy. But...it gave Shuichi a tiny feeling of reassurance. It was definitely possible to befriend him. And maybe...they actually had more in common than he would've thought.

A few more moves...a few more taps of glass bottoms settling over the wooden surface...and Kokichi finally stepped back from the table, throwing his arms behind his head and sighing. "Are you done now, Shuichi? I'm boooored. Your lab is _so_ boring. Though I shouldn't be surprised, considering it was made especially for _you_."

"Ah..." _You looked like you were having fun with your game, though. Maybe that's a lie...?_ "Yeah..."

Shuichi awkwardly stood up, slipping the file in his lap back into his messenger bag. Damn, that thing was heavy now. He struggled to pick it up again, and though he didn't look back, he could just imagine Kokichi snickering at his feeble attempts. Eventually, he managed to get it over his head again, though the strap weighed down and cut into his shoulder. _Jeez...get your own bag next time, Kokichi..._

For a brief second, he jokingly imagined himself as the beleaguered husband, carrying his wife's enormous shopping bag. _Why would I even think about that? It's kinda silly, but...still..._ Even just the very distant, vague idea that he could ever be married to Kokichi was _disturbing_. _Okay, I'm never thinking about that again._

"I'm ready to go now."

" _Finally_... So..." Kokichi glanced around the room one last time, as if considering something. "We've been everywhere except the basement, right? Well, let's get a move on! I especially wanna go to the library, you know."

"The library?" Shuichi couldn't say he wasn't slightly surprised. "Why the library? Wouldn't that be just as 'boring' for you as this place?"

"Uh-uh!" Kokichi emphatically shook his head. "There's _tons_ of possibilities in the library! Think about it! Maybe we'll have a hot makeout session behind a wall of books! Maybe I'll fall off the ladder and crack my head open! Or maybe I'll drop a big, heavy encyclopedia on you and knock you unconscious! If it hits you in a weak spot, you might even die! See? There's lots of fun stuff like that!"

"Sure," Shuichi replied, voice dripping with sarcasm. "Sounds like a blast."

"Yup, yup!" At least Kokichi was grinning and appearing to be happy again. "C'mon, then! Don't keep your inevitable demise waiting!" And with that, he rushed out of the lab, making a vague beckoning motion back at him.

Shuichi internally groaned. _Am I getting anywhere with this? I hope I am..._

Lugging the messenger bag with his hands clenched at the strap, he moved toward the door. But...before leaving, he decided to just take a look...

The various poison bottles lined up on the table didn't have any immediate pattern to them. He couldn't even really tell which ones were meant to be pawns or bishops, or even which were the kings and queens. But there was still something incredibly _odd_ about the way he'd left them...

Down the center of the "board", the bottles were parted in a triangular pattern, as if making way for something else. And in the center were two more bottles--one a tinted brown glass with a blue cap, and the other a small, clear crystal, containing a light blue liquid. Were those the king and queen, perhaps? But there was only one of each...

Shuichi delicately picked up the bigger bottle, reading its label. _Strike-9 Poison._ And the second...a different sort of poison, which caused hemorrhaging in the eyes. _Why...?_

Shuichi stared and stared at the bottles, reading their labels over a second time, turning them over in his hands. Maybe it didn't mean anything. Maybe Kokichi had just thought they looked nice. Maybe he was completely overthinking things again. But...there was a weird, unsettled feeling inside him again, the more he looked at these two bottles. As if he'd seen them before.

_Well, of course I have--they're in my own lab, after all! I had to have looked at them at least once before while they were in the cabinet._ He should just ignore it. But...

Pressing his lips together, Shuichi set the bottles back down in their spot of reverence. _No. No, I can't underestimate Kokichi. He's incredibly clever. He knows something all of us don't. Like that song... He's trying to cover it up and sneak it past, but no... This_ means _something. This absolutely means something. He's trying to tell me something. I have no idea what...but...this here...it's not just a cute arrangement. It's a message. He was preparing this message the entire time...and maybe that's why he left first...so that I would find it._

Shuichi's breath bunched up in his lungs. He had to figure this out, make out what Kokichi was trying to say. Did these two poisons have something in common? Were they meant to represent people? Did the colors and shapes correspond to something else? But...there wasn't enough time. He could spend hours trying to solve this puzzle and lose the rest of the time he had to interact with Kokichi today. Well...hopefully, no one else would come into his lab. As long as the bottles stayed in the same position, he could return late tonight or tomorrow to work on it.

An underlying tremble began in Shuichi's arms when he finally pulled himself away...and it wasn't just the weakness of his muscles. _What if...these poisons were used in a murder?_ But that was a ridiculous thought--no one had died, everyone was perfectly fine. And it couldn't be some sort of warning. How would...how could somebody _know_ that a murder was going to happen in the future? That would make Kokichi something like the Ultimate Clairvoyant, and that was logically impossible.

_Kokichi..._ He couldn't help considering, even as he left the mystery of his own lab behind and joined the impatient, fuming boy in the hallway. Looking into his simplistic, childish, taunting mask, he couldn't help thinking. _Just what are you doing...? Just what_ are _you?_

\---

Naturally, the library was abandoned when Shuichi and Kokichi arrived, their footfalls absorbed by the ocean of paper around them. Nobody really cared for this place--it was stuffy and messy and musty and most of the books here weren't all that useful. Out of everyone, Shuichi was the biggest bookworm, anyway. Korekiyo might enjoy a few of the history and culture books, but other than that, everyone else greatly preferred the A/V Room next door. Kaede had all the sheet music she needed in her own lab, and Tsumugi had already confiscated the majority of the manga.

Knowing how much he enjoyed games, Kokichi probably would have preferred the arcade room, if all its machines hadn't been completely broken down. Thinking of it, why hadn't anyone begged Miu to fix them? Nobody really cared that much, he guessed. And they still had the casino... That was all _he_ really needed, anyway.

As it turned out, for the first several minutes, the two of them didn't do much other than sit and sift through a few piles of books. Shuichi ended up finding a few new mystery novels that looked interesting enough, so he stacked them purposefully on the desk for later. Normally, he _would_ tuck them away in his bag, but the case files were taking up too much space. Dammit, Kokichi...

For a little while, Kokichi searched through a particularly thick tome, skimming the pages as if speed-reading a few of them. Ultimately, though, he decided it was useless and simply tossed it aside, knocking over a small tower of other books in the process. He joined Shuichi on the floor between the stacks, peering over his shoulder as he looked through another mystery collection, trying to decide if it was worth putting in the pile.

"Hey, Shuiiiiichi..." To Shuichi's annoyance, he'd started moving in uncomfortably close, a grin leering up from under a purple mop at his left shoulder.

_What does he want now?_ Kokichi thrived on attention, after all...he just couldn't go that long without being the central focus. It was partly why everyone tried to ignore him as much as they could.

"What?" Shuichi finally turned, raising a suspicious eyebrow at him. Geez, he really was too close...their noses were practically touching. Shuichi felt himself nervously shudder on the inside. "And have you ever heard of personal space?"

"Yup! That's where your spiky-headed idiot pal wants to go, right? His own personal space." Kokichi laughed, but thankfully, he did indeed back off just a tad. "Hey." He poked Shuichi's upper arm instead, like an incessant child. "I'm hungry."

Shuichi couldn't help freezing. _Is...he trying to tease me about the belly thing again? Or... If he really is hungry, that's great! But...I don't know. Is it just pretend, or...? Of course, I want to get him something, but... This is just another way of poking fun at me, it has to be. He'd never actually admit that..._

"I'm huuuuungry," he whined out again. "You wanna feed me, don'tcha?"

"Kokichi..." Shuichi's teeth clenched behind his closed lips. "Don't lie about yourself just because you get a kick out of teasing me."

"Uh-uh, it's not a lie!" Kokichi formed a sneaky little smile, his head slightly cocked to the side. "I swear, I swear! I'm really hungry! It's all your fault, you know. I'd finally reached the point of starvation where my body just stopped feeling it--but you had to go and force me to eat, activating my hunger again. You're just the worst!"

Well...that hadn't been good at all. Thank God for his intervention, then.

"And now I'm hungry..." Kokichi grinned and insistently pressed a hand to his midsection. "If you put your ear to my tummy right now, you'd probably hear it going _grrrrrumble-rumble_!"

Despite himself, Shuichi felt his heart heavily thump. _Oh, God, no. I would die from embarrassment._ "Well...I guess it makes sense" he finally spoke. "You didn't eat enough for lunch. You only had one scone and a little mini-sandwich."

"And you were _sooooo_ excited about that, too!" Kokichi bounced a bit on his knees and tugged at his bandanna, clearly enjoying himself.

"I wasn't _excited_ ," Shuichi huffed, yanking his head towards the book in his lap. "I was just happy you actually ate something without me having to force it on you."

Even though a sliver of anxiety was creeping into him, Shuichi set the book aside, sitting up a little and stuffing his hands into his bag. There were...a few food-type prizes he'd won in here, and hopefully, they'd be enough to satisfy the scrawny, taunting boy. It only took a second before he extracted a small cardboard box--one of three he'd felt buried deep in there.

"Well, um..." Shuichi hated the hesitant, uncertain sound of his own voice as he turned and offered the box to Kokichi. He shouldn't be this nervous! Nothing about this should be making him nervous! "I got duplicates of these sukiyaki caramels, if you want some of those..."

Kokichi immediately rolled his eyes, and Shuich felt his heart sinking. "You think I like that trash? God, Shuichi, I thought you knew me better than that."

Though he knew he shouldn't let his words affect him in any way, he couldn't help the clenching in his chest. Because, unfortunately, he desperately wanted him to like the food he gave him. It was pure folly on his part, but it just...happened. A natural response he couldn't get a handle on. "Um...but...you really liked the cake from yesterday, so..."

"So? You just figured I would like _all_ sweet things because I like cake? Geez, that's insulting."

"Uh..."

"...In which case, you figured correctly, cause that was a lie, and I love that shit. Gimme!"

Before Shuichi could steel himself, Kokichi's arm shot forward and swiped the box from his hands. While he gazed blankly after, the smaller boy snickered and extracted one of the candies, popping it into his mouth. "Nyeheheh, I'm so predictable."

_I would beg to differ._ Shuichi caught his breath, shouldering a sigh. _I really have to stop letting him do that to me. He knows...what's going to bother me the most, and he just messes around with it. I'd tell myself that I'll know better next time, but... I probably won't. I know I'll just end up forgetting. Oh well..._

Shuichi shook his head to himself and turned his attention back to the book, now that Kokichi was occupied for the time being. _At least...he's feeling actual hunger. He's telling me when he's hungry, and he's taking steps to satisfy it._ He couldn't help feeling a certain joy and comfort in that knowledge. Kokichi had made so much progress already, in such a short amount of time...and even if it was because of his belief in Shuichi's "fetish" and the enjoyment he got out of prodding at it, it was still wonderful.

_I'm so glad..._ Shuichi briefly closed his eyes, listening to the tiny crunching sound of Kokichi biting into his next candy. _That's right...listen to your hunger, Kokichi. Your body is telling you to take care of it. And your body is worth that care._

A few moments passed in silence. Shuichi was so immersed in his own ruminations that he didn't even notice... There was just too much to think about...the poison bottles, the weird song, the visions, this supposed "kink", Kokichi's health... How had all of these confusing, strange things occurred just within the past twenty-four hours? Though...when you were limited to ten days, time almost _had_ to move more slowly, to allow for anything to develop and form. And there was so much more Shuichi wanted to uncover before his time was up.

What would even happen when time was up, anyway? If the final day passed, and he hadn't found his one true love...would he just...stay trapped here? Would he get to go home? Would Monokuma revert back to the original "murder each other" plan? It was concerning...but these flashes in his memory were even more concerning. Were they things that had already happened or things that had yet to happen? Or...was he just having hallucinations? That was also a possibility.

Shuichi had almost forgotten where he was and who he was with...until suddenly, something fell, tapping around his neck, lightly weighing at his collarbone. _What...?_

Before he could even look down and figure out what it was, the lithe, pale form of Kokichi Ouma flung itself around, landing gracefully in front of him, some sort of white cable draped through his hand. He'd been on the ladder...he'd leapt down from the ladder, where he'd apparently been _doing_ something...and unfortunately, Shuichi was about to find out what.

A thin, crazed little smirk stretched across Kokichi's face, his eyes darkened and dangerous, and with a panicked jolt, Shuichi realized what he was feeling. A cord--presumably one of the extension cords from the library's desk, was looped around his neck, tied behind him like a noose. It was strung up through the bars of the ladder...and the end was sitting in the hand of the devilish supreme leader standing before him. With enough force...if he pulled hard enough...would he really be able to string him up...?!

Shuichi's heart pounded in his ears and he desperately reached to slip his head out of the loop...but Kokichi had managed to tighten it _just_ enough after throwing it over his head that it wouldn't come off. _What the...?! How could...?! Why would...?!_ Despite the immediate threat to his life, the fear, the adrenaline pumping through him, Shuichi scrambled to forcefully calm his nerves. Kokichi...Kokichi wouldn't... No, it was far too simple. If Kokichi were really going to murder him, he'd do it in a much more sneaky manner. This would be too obvious. He wouldn't go _this_ far. ...Right? ... _Right_?!?!

Kaede's warning echoed in the back of his consciousness--"He's dangerous, Shuichi"... This wasn't... In desperation, Shuichi looked into those purple pools of darkness. _Please tell me this is a lie._

"Heeeeeey..." Kokichi's slithering tone called to him. His skinny body bent inward, folding itself closer down, until he was finally level on the floor with Shuichi again. And his smile crept even further across his deathly pale face. "Shuichi...I'm bored, so... Let's play a little game..."

Shuichi gulped, trying to wet the back of his dry, terrified throat. "Wh-What...what sort of game?"

"Oh...it's just a little game I like to call...Hangman's Gambit."

"Hangman's...Gambit?" Why did that name feel so...weirdly familiar and comfortable? He'd never even heard it before.

The crazed smirk never left Kokichi's face, even as he reached over, carelessly tearing a blank page out of a nearby library book and producing a pen from inside his shirt. Where had he gotten _that_ from? The desk, maybe? Had Shuichi really spaced out that much? He definitely had to pay more attention--he never should've let him out of his sight in the first place. This was...all his fault.

"The objective is simple." Kokichi pulled the pen's cap off with his mouth and began to scribble something on the paper. Once he was finished, he let the cap fall, rebounding on the concrete floor and rolling away. "Avoid becoming the hanged man!"

He snickered as if this was all some sort of silly prank, and Shuichi felt slightly sick. But as soon as he forced the feeling down, another tiny piece of his brain was again telling him not to be afraid. That this _was_ just...a silly prank. That Kokichi would never actually hurt him. There was no basis for this belief...but it was there. Could he really afford this sort of blind, illogical trust, especially in someone as unscrupulous as Kokichi? But his heart's instinct's hadn't been off yet...even at the threat of his life, he was going to have to...keep going.

"Um...but...how do I do that?"

"Nyeeheehee! Don't worry, it's easy!" Kokichi slid the paper towards him, showing him the "game board". It just looked like a simple game of hangman--a series of dashes indicating the placement of letters, and a half-T, ominously representing the gallows to the side. And then, oddly enough, Kokichi slid something else up beside Shuichi's thigh--the box of sukiyaki caramels, still mostly full. He'd apparently only eaten a few of them before abandoning it. But...what did that have to do with...?

"Here's the dealio," Kokichi began, looking for all the world like a child, excited to be explaining their favorite game to their best friend. "You guess the letters...vowels too! But if you get more than six wrong... _fwip_!" He lifted his hand holding the cord a bit, indicating the trigger of the makeshift hanging device. "Guess the word right, and you get to live! Oh, and also..."

The corners of Kokichi's mouth stretched upwards again, though this time, it was his taunting smirk. "For every letter you guess correctly...you get to feed me one of those!"

Shuichi's eyes followed the point of his finger down to the box of candies beside him. "Uh..." He felt a few tiny beads of sweat prickle up at his hairline. "That...doesn't make sense. Shouldn't I be the one getting the candy as a reward? N-Not that I want it...cause, like, I don't even like those." Damn, he was nervous...and this time, it wasn't just because his life was being threatened. The thought of feeding candies to Kokichi by hand...why was that so exciting?! Why was he doing this?! Did he actually _want_ this?!

"Eeheeheehee, it's cause I know _that's_ the real reward for you, Shuichi. You'd much rather feed me, duh." Kokichi squirmed as excited thrills went through his body, and he scooted himself closer, within reach of Shuichi and the candy box. "So, so, are you ready?" He took up the pen in his free hand again. "Start guessing! We don't have all night, you know!"

"Um..." Shuichi could hear the pounding of his own heart. For a moment, his vision blurred, before focusing down on the paper and the letter lines. _What does this_ mean _?! Does he not mind being fed? Does he_ like _being fed?! I... That would be...great, but... He's just doing this to turn me into a confused, worried mess, and goddammit, he's succeeding. I don't even want to know what I must look like right now._

Shuichi took a slow breath and tried to forcefully calm himself, concentrating on the word. _Just...focus on the puzzle. It's okay. You can do this. It's just hangman. You're good at this. At least I think I am...right?_ Eight letters...all one word... It shouldn't be took hard.

"R," Shuichi guessed first, to which Kokichi clicked his tongue and drew a circle just below the gallows. "Uh-oh! Wrong already, right out of the gate. But don't give up!"

Shuichi snorted at his unnecessary commentary and tried his best to ignore him. Guessing a "T" just earned him the line of the hangman's body, and he felt the adrenaline buzzing through his system. No, no, he had to concentrate. _What would_ he _do?_ Shuichi thought. _Kokich's quite clever, he wouldn't use an easy word. Maybe it doesn't have a lot of common letters in it. I have to think a little bit outside the box._

After a moment of silent deliberation, he finally made his next guess. "C."

"Oooh! Finally!" Kokichi giggled and merrily filled in two "C's" in the spaces. "That's two caramels, then! Go on, you can get them out."

Oh...but then, there was also this to deal with. Complacently, Shuichi re-opened the box and fished out two caramels with shaky fingers.

"Ahhhhh..." Kokichi willingly leaned forward, opening his mouth for him...and though his chest was fluttering and shivering with nervous energy...he poked one into it. Kokichi smiled at him as he chewed, and if he hadn't been in such a dire situation, Shuichi would have honestly loved it. The caramel was quickly swallowed and replaced with the second.

"Okay!" Kokichi spoke, though he was still chewing, and his left cheek was slightly puffed. "You can keep going!"

Shuichi forced his attention away from the little cheek-bulge and assessed the current word. The placement of those C's...it had to be.... "K," he easily guessed, and Kokichi made a little hop as he filled in two K's, exactly where Shuichi had expected them.

"Sheemsh yer onna roll mow, huh, Shuishi!" He hastened his chewing and swallowed, opening up for the next two. "Now isn't this fun?"

"Eugh..." Shuichi just made an uncertain, anxious noise, though he fetched the caramels, and then gently fed them to the eager supreme leader. This was just so bizarre... He couldn't place the way he felt about it. But...he found he wasn't agreeing or disagreeing entirely with it being "fun". The soft little smacking sounds of Kokichi eating the chewy caramels was extremely distracting and...terribly magnetic. Shuichi just wanted to sit here and listen, but...there was a game to be won, after all.

The word now read "**ck**ck". And when he thought about Kokichi, about words Kokichi would use...it was completely obvious. "Lockpick." He spoke out his answer before even giving the smaller boy a chance to finish. This time, he was certain...confident in his deduction, and... Man, did he want to poke more of those candies into that giggling little mouth.

Kokichi paused, entirely silent, as he finished chewing. He stared at the paper, his expression blank and unreadable. _That's...that's right, right?!_ Shuichi suddenly began to panic. _I...I'm sure it's right! I... If not, I'm...!_

"Ta-dah!" Finally, Kokichi burst out in a little singsong jingle. "You got it! Wow, I didn't expect you to get it so fast! Congratulations!" Laughing at Shuichi's mortified face, he bent over, swiftly filling in the letters, spelling "lockpick". He also crossed out the incomplete gallows and formed a new, blank one above it. "There it is. Aaaaaand, you also get four candies to stuff into my face, too! Lucky you!"

Shuichi felt his breaths in his eardrums. _God, why does he have to scare me like that?! Well...because he gets a kick out of it, of course. But oh, God..._ And now... _four_ caramels?

Shuichi fumbled with the lightened box, accidentally letting it slip out of his grasp before quickly snatching it up again. The front loop of the cord tapped against his neck as he lowered his head, yet he didn't even feel that concerned about it. Four more caramels...the little brown plastic-wrapped sweets filled his palm, and the crinkling noise as he unwrapped the first one sent a shiver through his arm.

"C'mooooon, slowpoke," Kokichi impatiently whined, and Shuichi had a terrible suspicion that he was putting on a show. "I'm still hungry, you know..."

This definitely wasn't the healthiest way to fill his void, but it was happening. It was already _happening_ , and Shuichi was already holding the first caramel to his lips, quivering as he felt those lips push it inside, just barely bumping his fingertips.

Kokichi closed his eyes, savoring the taste, and relaxed just enough to dip closer to Shuichi's shoulder. Soon enough, Shuichi was popping the second, and then the third past his lips again. He snickered and pushed his bangs out of his face with his free hand, making sure not to accidentally get hair in his mouth.

The more he watched, the more...oddly at ease Shuichi began to feel. This was just...so nice. It was an intimate, caring action...feeding. He hadn't been able to compose himself enough to really think about it last night. But it was just so heartening...the way Kokichi happily munched and eagerly leaned in for another. _It doesn't matter if he's doing it to tease me...he's eating. And that's all that matters._

"I can't believe you like this junk," Shuichi broke the silence, just after plopping the final caramel into his mouth. "I think it's just sickening."

"Mmhmm. Thash cuz you got baaaad tashte."

"Could you maybe not talk with your mouth full?"

"Nyeheh, no 'ay! You know you luuuuuub thish, Shuishi, 'don lie!"

"Ugh...I hate this."

Kokichi finally swallowed, and Shuichi's legs shifted, uncomfortably, beneath him. They were done, right? He'd guessed correctly... His fingers played at the flaps of the box of caramels, before his hand slipped inside and extracted just one remaining caramel at the very bottom. Just one. These were boxes of twelve, so that meant...Kokichi had actually eaten eleven. Another tiny shiver shot down Shuichi's neck and between his shoulderblades as he pinched the candy between his fingers. Almost the whole box...almost the whole box was inside him now.

And then...a scraping, shuffling, and rattling noise drew his attention again, and his heart pattered at his throat. Kokichi had reached over to the messenger bag...and extracted another sukiyaki caramel box, which he was currently clutching in his one hand. The world's lightest shade of pink was flushing onto his cheeks, though his smile was thin and taunting.

"Nyeehee! I already noticed we were running out of candy, so here ya go! You want to go another round?" And then, he cracked the second box open, pushing it over to replace the empty one. "Nyeeheehee! Of course you wanna keep going. Silly question, right?"

Kokichi was apparently unaffected, though Shuichi felt the thudding in his chest intensify. So he was...completely okay with this? He _wanted_ this? Did he...was he... Was he _enjoying_ this? Well, of course he was enjoying toying with him, but...beyond that...? No, no, it was too much. Yet, Kokichi had been the one to initiate this. Kokichi had been the one pulling the strings. And even though he severely doubted it could be true, he wished, he hoped... He would love it if Kokichi was enjoying this "feeding" thing just as much as he was. And he let himself believe that he was enjoying it.

With a flourish, Kokichi set out another puzzle, three words this time, but only twelve letters--exactly as much as one sukiyaki caramel box. And...the "game" continued.

Two correct letters--"S"es--and two little caramel cubes were popped into Kokichi's mouth again. Both at the same time. His bulgy cheeks were just adorable...and it took all of Shuichi's willpower to finally, finally permit himself to think it. He couldn't keep on denying the truth of what he felt, the truth of his own opinion. This was just plain adorable. Of course, unlike Tenko, he would never voice it aloud...he would never tell another living soul about how much he enjoyed watching Kokichi eat. But it never needed to leave his heart.

Another letter--a single "T"--and another caramel. This time, Kokichi tilted his head towards him and sensually licked his sticky lips once he was done.

"How have you not gotten bored of the taste yet?" Shuichi asked, honestly curious.

Kokichi just shrugged. "Sweets are never boring." And it wasn't a lie. If there was one true fact he'd learned about Kokichi so far, it was that he _definitely_ had a sweet tooth...and a pretty big one at that. This was certainly insight he could use to his advantage...

Guessing an "L" earned him three more letters and three more caramels to feed to the sweets-obsessed boy. Shuichi was practically enraptured in watching the gentle mastications of his small jaw, the borderline flirtatious looks he shot him, the understated bliss in the barely-visible flush under his eyes.

By this point, he'd almost completely forgotten about the cord around his neck...and it was probably for the best. It had only been...a _pretense_ , after all. A way to rope him into this, no pun intended. Something...to get all of this started. Kokichi just wanted to play, and he'd never actually hurt him. This assurance came from somewhere deep inside of Shuichi, and he knew it to be true, no matter what. _Why_ didn't matter right now. Because it had been written into his heart.

A tiny, muffled hiccup rocked Kokichi's body when he finished the caramel trio, and it felt as if it shuddered straight into Shuichi's chest. It was a clear signal that he was feeling full, that his stomach was adjusting and making more room, and it was so weirdly _incredible_. Undoubtedly red-faced, Shuichi looked back to the game board, if just to avoid meeting his eyes at this moment.

So far, it read "**lls ** St**l". Stool? Steel? Steal? He hadn't guessed any vowels yet, which probably hadn't been smart. He looked back on his interactions and his observations of Kokichi, trying to come up with something he might say relating to this... Lies...soda...robophobia...secret organizations...games... It was a little weird, but he decided to try it... "Um...is it... 'kills to steal'?"

It might have just been a mask, but the look Kokichi gave him was so incredulous and exasperated, it almost made him chuckle. "Really? _That's_ what you're going with? I didn't think you even knew what a kill steal was, Shuichi."

"Heh..." _Is he impressed or disappointed? It's impossible to tell._ "Well...I'm not a gamer, but...I know enough about the culture, just from research and stuff."

"You disgusting nerd. But, yup! You got it! Congratulations!" Kokichi tapped his finger on the side of the pen as he filled in the letter and scribbled out the gallows, which didn't even have a single body part this time. "So that's six! Just not all at once, though, okay? I'm not the one in danger of choking here. Nyeeheehee!"

And then...to Shuichi's utter shock and embarrassment...Kokichi lied down. And suddenly, his head was resting on his thigh, almost fully in his lap...twinkling, mischievous eyes blinking up at him.

"W-W-What the...?! W-What are you doing?!" The exclamation burst out of him before he could work to quell it.

"Welllll...I just figured, in this position, it would be easier for you," Kokichi innocently answered. "You won't have to reach over. And as someone in _my_ standing, I'm used to being pampered like this. It only makes sense. So go on. Ahhhhhh..."

Part of Shuichi felt like it was dying. This position...it was far too intimate, far too romantic, far too close... If they were watching right now--and they undoubtedly were--the Monokubs and the dating show's audience must have been having a fit. But...it was what they wanted. It was what Kokichi wanted. And...it was what he wanted, too.

So gently, with continually quivering fingers...Shuichi unwrapped the first of the six caramels and placed it on Kokichi's extended tongue. He delicately slurped it in, sucking on it a little bit before starting to chew. This position also helped, because his hair fell down, away from his face, over Shuichi's leg, and it granted the flustered detective an even better view of his pulsating cheeks and the pleased-looking arc of his eyebrows. It was terrible, but Suhichi had to admit that he was right. This was much better.

One more...and a drive, an instinct inside him seemed to take over. Kokichi remained complacently silent as he gently brought one candy after another to his lips and pressed it inside, as if very slowly slipping marbles into a sack. The whole time, Shuichi's body felt very, very warm, and a tiny rational piece of him hoped he wasn't getting too sweaty. Was this...really a _kink_? It didn't seem anything like what Shuichi had thought of as a kink. But he could no longer deny that he had some weird _desire_ to feed Kokichi...something extending beyond just making sure he didn't starve. Was it just because he happened to have the cutest eating face he'd ever seen? Or was it...?

_"It's love, it's love!"_ Monophanie's obnoxious voice echoed in his mind, and he angrily told it to shut up. _I don't "like" him, you idiot. I just have some creepy affinity for shoving food at him. Geez, I'm such a creep. Maybe Miu was right...I really am a pervert. Why am I like this?! I never wanted this... But...but he's okay, right?_

When Shuichi focused and looked back to the small, pallid face in his lap, Kokichi's fingers were playing at his mouth, barely obscuring his smirk. He felt his back lightly convulse, and God, he just wanted to rub his shoulder or something... No. No, no, no, no, no. This was too much, way too much...

The six caramels were gone. Another empty cardboard box sat abandoned on the library floor. All gone, just like that.

"Careful." Kokichi's lilting voice finally broke the strange silence. "You keep going like that, and you just might spoil my dinner, you know." He grinned and gave his stomach a pat with both hands. Wait...both? When...when had he dropped the cord? But honestly, Shuichi barely even noticed, because he was slowly being set on fire.

So this was his plan. He wasn't going to die by hanging, he was going to die by spontaneous internal combustion. Shuichi hated the way his lecherous eyes immediately went to Kokichi's waist, searching. He couldn't _see_ anything, but...but he _had_ to be pretty full by now. Two boxes of candies certainly didn't make a good meal, but it was enough to _be_ a meal. Wow...had he really fed him that much?! By hand?! One piece of Shuichi's heart wished he really _had_ been hanged instead. How...how could he have done all that?! And what Kokichi did next didn't help matters at all.

Without even batting an eye, the small, sweet-filled supreme leader pulled himself back up and enthusiastically whipped out his pen. "Alright, final round!" His other hand, actually free now, plunged into the messenger bag, yanking out the third box--the third and last box of sukiyaki caramels they'd won from the Monomono Machine today. He casually tossed it straight into Shuichi's hands, and his arms were shaking so much that he almost dropped it between his legs. "And if you win _this_ one, not only will you get to live, buuuuut..." That teasing smirk was giving him so many conflicted feelings. "...I'll even let you rub my tummy, too! Sound good?"

"Ah--uh-um...apff... P-P... Ahgh..." Shuichi tried his best to let out an objection, assert that that wasn't something he desired as much as...he really did. But it was being choked by his throat, his heart, his desire to preserve the truth, no matter how painful that truth was. No matter how hard it was to accept. He couldn't just _accept_! He couldn't let himself _accept_... This wasn't _normal_ , this wasn't how real people acted, this wasn't how any sane person would feel...

Kokichi was practically cackling as he created the final hangman puzzle. Probably enjoying the utter mess he was turning Shuichi into, and Shuichi was doubly embarrassed by how awful he probably looked right now. Another arrangement of twelve letters...the final box.

Shuichi got his first two guesses wrong, just because he could barely think. _I need to try some vowels_ , he finally remembered, and called an "E".

Two E's...two caramels. Shuichi oddly, awkwardly imagined it felt good to Kokichi, who was still happily smirking as he munched them down. To have such a cascade of sweets filling him up...to have this forbidden indulgence. At least...he dearly hoped it was true, that it really did make him feel good.

More vowels... Two "O's", and another pair of sweet little morsels. As he finished them off, Kokichi couldn't manage to stifle one of his hiccups, and it came out as an audible little " _ic_!" Shuichi constantly fretted that it might be too much for him. All this sugar and stickiness couldn't be good... How had he even lasted this long, continually eating this many candies? But he didn't say anything at all about stopping. In fact, he kept urging Shuichi to guess more.

_He better not be sacrificing his own comfort just to ruffle my feathers_ , he anxiously thought...but he guessed another correct letter and poked another caramel to his mouth all the same. A miss...then a "V", and one more little sweet.

"****o*e *over" the phrase now read. And Shuichi sighed as he mulled it over and realized what it could be, what it _must_ be. He was really going to make him say it, huh? Well, it made sense. It made _too_ much sense, actually.

"Asshole lover."

"Pfahahahahahahaha-- _hic_! Ah, that's great. You got it again, Shuichi! Guess they don't call you a master sleuth for nothing! Though you certainly _do_ nothing!" Instead of filling in the letters this time, Kokichi just took the paper...and tore it to shreds, tossing it in Shuichi's direction like celebratory confetti.

He slightly scowled as paper scraps landed in his hair, in the collar of his coat, and even in his breast pocket. That was very unnecessary and wasteful. But oh well.

"Nyeehee! I'll remove your little shackle now. But that was fun! Thanks for showing me a great game, Shuichi!" There was a little too much enthusiasm in his voice, and Shuichi wondered if part of that had been a lie.

Thankfully, though, the part about releasing the cord noose was true, and Shuichi found himself breathing just a bit easier when Kokichi loosened it enough for him to pull it off. That was it. This stupid little "game" of his was over. They could move on with...whatever the heck they'd been doing before. Investigating? Was that it? What time was it, anyway? Shuichi had lost track of everything except the number of caramels his small companion had consumed--which was currently 29. _Why do I know that so easily?_

"Okie-dokies!" Kokichi hopped down from the ladder, apparently feeling well enough for such a thing. "Now for your prize. Let's get this over with, hmm?"

Before he could say anything in reply, Shuichi found the purple mop of his head resting in his lap once more. There were seven candies left, though there had been six letters, leaving a single candy left over at the end of it all. Weird... It was almost like he'd planned it this way.

Slowly, slowly, with a terrible heat consuming him, Shuichi continued the feeding. Kokichi's hiccups were a little more frequent, and he covered his mouth on a few occasions, muffling them in his long white sleeves. To his horror, Shuichi found himself wishing he could rub his stomach right now, just to ease it a little bit. But no...Kokichi had insisted that he couldn't touch until they were completely done. His legs bent in, supporting his back, as he used Shuichi's thigh as a pillow. And he munched, munched, munched... More...more... Another...

And then...finally...just when Shuichi thought he might literally melt into human tar, the very last sukiyaki caramel was meticulously consumed.

"Mmm-mmm..." Kokichi mumbled, half to himself. And his eyes were closed, warmly comfortable, as he lazily licked his lips and rested more of his weight down on Shuichi's leg. "Well, that was good... Nyeehee, go ahead now. I know you wanna, you nasty boy."

"P-Please stop calling me that."

"Naaaasty, nasty boy..." Kokichi looked up towards him with narrowed, grinning eyes and tapped his midsection. "There's a freshly-bloated tummy for you to fondle right here, you know..."

"P-Please stop that!"

"Nasty tummy boy, won't you squeeze my nasty tummy?"

"Sh-Sh-Shut up!" Shuichi... _did_ want to, of course, but the more he teased him, the more terrible he felt about all of this. About himself. He shivered. He buried his face in his hands. What had he _done_? This time, he couldn't even write this off as trying to help him be healthier. It was just...a desire. A dreadful, almost lustful desire. And he hated it, with every fiber of his being.

"Oh, Shuichi... _ic_! You're so fun..." Kokichi was tapping at his elbow, and he reluctantly lowered his arm.

_That's right. This is just...fun for him. Messing with me. Making these feelings happen. Making me act on my weird feelings, and then making me feel awful about it. He's doing it on purpose. Of course, he knows what he's doing. It's just_ funny _to him. I hate it so much._

And then...with determination set in his heart, Shuichi decided. _I'm not going to let him. I don't...I don't care any more. I'm not going to care any more._ And at last...with his hand still shaking with buried anxiety...he reached down...and his palm connected.

_Oh gosh..._ Despite his steeled resolve, he couldn't help nearly gasping at the sensation. Even though he'd had the chance to feel this before, it was always such a shock to his system. _Oh gosh..._

Kokichi's tiny belly wasn't as stuffed as last night, but...but it was still warm, contented, and pressing out just a bit. Full--quite full. Comfy and snug. Shuichi's over-sensitive nerves felt the tiniest bubble from inside, as that taut little belly worked to process all of those sugary delights. Tenderly...so tenderly, he cupped it in both of his hands...and gave it a caress. Up and down...up and down... It shuddered as Kokichi snickered, and his fingers began to work in soft, gentle ministrations, calming the unsettled little gurgles of digestion.

This...this just felt so _good_. No longer dying with embarrassment, Shuichi just let the joyful, wonderful sensations wash over him as he continued rubbing, tenderly massaging, affectionately caressing... There. It was...okay. Kokichi wasn't pushing him away. In fact, if he could trust his expression, it almost looked like he was enjoying it. His cheeks were ever-so-slight rosy, his head turned sideways, his arms curled up at his sides, willingly granting access.

A sense of _satisfaction_ he wouldn't ever really recognize descended over Shuichi--a calm, delighted satisfaction. Kokichi had been hungry...and he'd fed him. Completely satisfied him. Filled this poor little belly, which had desperately needed filling. Filled it so much, it had formed this tiny, tiny bulge. He'd fed him to complete repletion. And Kokichi just looked so very contented, it made his heart throb inside him, even if it was a lie. Oh, how he prayed it wasn't.

"...These buttons are in the way." It was the first thought Shuichi managed to vocalize, as he tugged at the red button on Kokichi's outfit. Their bumps certainly interrupted the smoothness of the belly rub, and he'd been trying to rub between them, though that wasn't always possible. He also wanted to make sure he didn't accidentally press too hard--it might be painful for him.

"Eehee..." Kokichi's snicker was quiet, more subdued this time...maybe this really was relaxing him. "You trying to get me to take off my shirt for you? In your dreams, kink boy."

"No, I'm not saying... I mean, it would be easier if... Nevermind."

"Ahahaha...ahhhh..." Kokichi let his eyelids slide closed again, and Shuichi glided his warm hand up to the top of his belly, just below the point of his bandanna.

"Um...d-does it...does it feel good?" He didn't know why he asked, it just sort of came out.

"Nah." Kokichi heaved a sigh, lifting Shuichi's hand with his breathing. "It's awful. I feel like I might be dying. I have sugar poisoning. I'm going to die now."

Shuichi gingerly rubbed at the very subtle curve beside the buttons. "...That's a lie?"

"Mmmm...maybe."

Though Shuichi probably could have gone on doing this all night, Kokichi finally wiggled away from his touch, and he lifted his hands off, getting the message. It took him a solid minute to haul himself up and onto his feet, but that was to be expected. Not only was he a tiny bit heavier, but his joints were probably locking up from lying in that position for so long.

Shuichi certainly felt incredibly stiff himself as he uncurled and slowly stretched his body back up. He took a mental note of the way Kokichi's baggy shirt completely covered whatever miniscule difference might have been visible in his full belly, and it didn't seem to encumber him, as it did last night. It was less food, of course, but...maybe he was also a little more used to it?

"Soooooooo." He cocked his head, questioningly at Shuichi, his messy hair shifting. "You gonna stop now?"

_Stop?!_ A stab of dread spiked into Shuichi's chest. What...did he... _mean_? His first thought was "stop with the feeding thing"--"are you going to stop doing this weird thing now?" "Are you satisfied with this creepy thing I let you do this one time, and now you won't do it anymore?" And it was just a little bit painful. If...that _was_ what he meant, then...

"I'm sorry..." Shuichi let his soft voice drip out between them, in the silent void of the library. "If I hurt you...I'm really sorry. I...truly am. You don't... Um... I'm just really sorry."

He couldn't ask what he truly wanted to... _You don't actually enjoy this, do you? Were you just pretending to enjoy it, for my sake? Or because you wanted to keep toying with me? Or...did you truly...like it? You didn't actually like me feeding you and...rubbing you like that...did you?_ But it was impossible for him to ask such things. Kokichi would never give him a straight, honest answer, and trying to figure it out might just tear him apart.

A hissing breath seeped out of Kokichi's teeth. "God...you're so stupid. I don't even know why I even bother with someone so dense. You just can't understand anything."

Shuichi's own teeth gnashed. Maybe he wasn't sure. Maybe it was painful, just trying to determine what was genuine or not about him. But he was trying to pry at his insecurities again, deflecting the focus away from himself.

"Kokichi..." He spoke his name with a firm, hard, yet caring edge. "I don't care. I don't care if you keep lying to me about what you're up to, about what happened to you, about what you're trying to do... But please...God, please, stop lying to me about your feelings. About what you want and don't want. Because...because I don't want to hurt you. And I don't want to let you make me hurt you. I don't care how much you try to hurt me in return."

"Pfheh...heheheheheh."

Incapable of taking anything seriously, as always. God, he was so frustrating. But...that was the challenge, wasn't it? Befriending him certainly was possible, but certainly never easy.

"You still don't get it. Oh, poor Shuichi..." And Kokichi's grin melted into something...just slightly more calm. "But hey, I trust you. I don't think you'd be capable of hurting me, even if you tried. You're too much of a wuss."

_Um...is that...good? That's good, right?_

He lightly thumped his waist and stretched his arms back. "Trust me, if this actually hurt, you'd be drowning in a sea of my tears and whining right now."

_I guess that's actually a little bit true._

As he came out of the stretch, Kokichi just shook his head, flailing his longer tendrils of hair again. "Buuuut, I don't owe you an explanation. Figure it out for yourself, detective."

That was always what it came down to, wasn't it? Yet, his statement contradicted with what he'd said earlier...when he'd teased him about having visions of him injured and secretly wanting to hurt him. _Does he think I secretly want to hurt him, or does he actually trust me_ not _to hurt him?!_ But either way, Shuichi knew in the deepest pits of his heart that he _didn't_ want to hurt him, and that would be his definitive truth.

"So what are we doing now? We've been pretty much everywhere." Kokichi rested his hands on his hips as he thought. "But we're not going to the casino, so don't even think of it, sleazebag."

_I didn't, actually..._ Shuichi was honestly too lost in his confused mind to even consider what they would do after this. How was there still more of this day left?

"Oh, I've got it!" After a moment, Kokichi's eyes lit up, and his hands excitedly clenched up near his chest. "How about a little exchange? Yeah! Like, you know... You showed me yours, so I'll show you mine!" His hands flipped over themselves, performing a sort of "swap" gesture. "Like that! C'mon, let's go!"

_Um...what?!_ Shuichi stared after, as the smaller boy hyper-actively dashed and hopped around before him, heading for the door and waiting to see him follow. _What the heck does_ that _mean?! And...now that I realize it, feeding him all that sugar was probably a terrible idea._

Still, how was Kokichi moving about so rapidly after ingesting so much sugar and caramel? How was his stomach not extremely upset? Unless...unless Shuichi's rubbing and massaging had actually managed to completely soothe it. A tiny prickle hit his cheeks at that thought, before he pushed it back down.

But...even though he couldn't figure out Kokichi's feelings, he at least...knew his own. At last, he decided...to set the truth free in his heart, even though it stung. He'd done it before, and he could do it again. Accept.

_I...I have an affinity for feeding and for bellies._ It was there. It existed. And he would have to move forward, while dealing with this truth.

Though one piece of Shuichi was painfully chiding himself, another part felt amazingly liberated. He shook his head as he took his first stride after the jittering Kokichi near the door. This was just one small aspect that made up _him_...and...it was going to be okay. He was going to accept... _all_ of who he was. Even if it hurt.

\---

_Wait...where is he taking me? Should I really be following_ him _?_

Shuichi was halfway up the basement staircase when the thoughts finally hit him. This was simply a terrible idea--allowing a sugar-buzzed Kokichi to lead him somewhere unknown and potentially dangerous. He was so damn _fast_ , too, and Shuichi could barely keep up. At least his messenger bag was slightly lighter now. There wasn't any time to think, anyway. Already, he was flying up the last stair, trailing after the furious tapping of Kokichi's feet on the smooth school floor. Then...just when he stepped through the gateway to the entrance hall, he noticed the small white form hop up and come to a halt, heels planting firmly into the floor.

"Ah..." In another second, Shuichi caught up, stopping beside him. _The entrance hall? I figured he was taking me somewhere outside. Or maybe he's just waiting for me to catch up? But it seemed like he stopped here pretty deliberately..._

"Here we are," Kokichi spoke, his voice a soft, childish sing-song.

Shuichi couldn't help raising an eyebrow at him in return, silently asking "what the heck is so special about it?"

Kokichi snickered and moved forward. Then...he leaned over, twisting his head this way, then the other...as if checking down the halls on either side. Making sure no one else was around, that no one else would witness them. Mysteriously, his feet tripped and slid forth another two, three steps, his arms tucked suspiciously behind his back. And suddenly, his right foot slid forcefully back...flipping and switching something on the floor.

An involuntary gasp shot from Shuichi's lungs as the marbled floor in front of him suddenly began to shudder and... _slide open_. A panel, that he'd previously assumed was the center of the floor, was slowly reeling backwards, revealing a hint of darkened stairs and some sort of secret passage underneath. How had he never noticed _that_?! He should've at least seen the hairline cracks in the floor where the panel's edges ended and met the rest of the floor. And he'd always prided himself on his observational skills.

Even so, there hadn't been any reason to be suspicious of the entrance hall--it was just the entrance hall. Yet the secret passage had been hiding here in plain sight all this time... Were there _more_ hidden panels like this?! Had Kokichi found this one all on his own? What was it _for_?!

As Shuichi stood paralyzed at the edge of the opening, Kokichi leapt down into the hole before the panel even stopped, as if this was the most natural thing in the world. His purple eyes glared back up at him from the dim light of the dark staircase, and it almost looked creepy. With a frustrated yank, he motioned his arms forward, indicating that he should hurry up and jump in after him.

_Uh...here goes._ Gulping, Shuichi finally stepped off the edge and let himself fall the short distance, his feet slamming into the first step.

Swiftly, Kokichi moved to a square device affixed to the wall beside him and pressed a button in the middle. A rumbling and soft vibrating from above announced that the panel had changed direction and was now sliding closed again.

And now, Shuichi was trapped in a dark underground passage with Kokichi Ouma. Wonderful.

Fortunately, a moment later, Kokichi flipped another unseen switch, lighting up a string of cheap overhead lamps, though they looked more like emergency lights you might see in a mining tunnel. There were a million questions Shuichi wanted to ask, but before he could even decide which to try first, Kokichi was literally skipping down the steps and into the extending rocky hallway. Well, apparently, he was used to this place.

Shuichi followed, at a slower and much less joyful pace, glancing back and forth. A few metal grates lined the walls in places, though they were only holding back piles of rocks and a few occasional roots. At least, if he somehow survived this bizarre encounter...he'd uncovered something new. He'd somehow gotten Kokichi to reveal a piece of information he'd been hiding from everyone up until now. The existence of this passage and...whatever it led to. And that fact alone worked to somewhat calm his nervousness.

Finally, after a few turns, Kokichi halted before a door of some sort, rocking himself back and forth with too much pent-up energy.

Shuichi's mouth gaped open just a tad. At the end of this passage was a large, round door, split in the middle, and emblazoned with the first character of Kokichi's last name. All around it, in a circular pattern, were the twelve symbols of the zodiac, sprayed on in some kind of orange paint. What...in the world...?! The design seemed to mark this as belonging to Kokichi somehow...but why the zodiac? And that was when Shuichi finally realized.

_Kokichi's Ultimate Lab... No one's been able to find it thus far. Monokuma told us on our first day here that each of us had a lab specifically made for us to polish our Ultimate talents, and that they were all available throughout the school...except for Rantaro's. He never said Kokichi's was blocked off, yet no one's seen any trace of it. Is_ this _...?_

Meanwhile, Kokichi seemed to be enjoying his puzzled expressions, burying his snickers in his bandanna and energetically quivering. "Nyeeheehee! Alllllmost there! I hope you're ready to have your mind completely blown!" He whirled around and began punching numbers into a keypad beside the door that Shuichi hadn't even seen until that moment, his bony hands moving so fast, they became a pallid blur. And the doors parted, cracking open, admitting the two boys inside.

What would could possibly be in the talent lab of the Ultimate Supreme Leader? Shuichi had to admit, this wasn't the first time he'd thought about it. A huge desk? A throne? A meeting room over which he would preside? Military supplies and world-conquering strategies? He sure hoped there weren't any bombs in here... He certainly wasn't expecting what met his eyes when he actually did step inside.

_What in the...?_

Well...it certainly resembled some sort of underground base, but... This looked more like the set of an action movie. A round, shiny floor, a rock wall that extended far too high, a glowing throne-like chair elevated on a platform, some kind of emblem hanging on the wall above it...

Shuichi moved, carefully, to the center of the circular room, taking all of this in with confused awe. A sci-fi-looking supercar sat up on a rack to the right and there was a row of blinking screens and desk chairs, like a monitor station beside it. To the left was a wall of supplies...only...very unusual supplies. Gas masks and handcuffs and ridiculous wigs and...joke glasses? What was going _on_ in this room? Was this really Kokichi's Ultimate lab?

_Bam! Clack!_ The noise startled him into turning around, finally noticing Kokichi himself, who was leaning with one foot pressed over an iron suitcase. "So whaddaya think? Pretty sweet, right?"

Everything in his face, his body language suggested a relaxed, flippant attitude, but...some tiny piece of his voice didn't seem right. Shuichi's eyes flashed towards the suitcase. He hadn't noticed that before...it had been sitting on the floor, and he'd entirely walked past it. Was it...important somehow? Was he trying to _protect_ it?

"Uh..." Shuichi carefully spoke, searching the corners of Kokichi's eyes. "So...is this your Ultimate lab?"

" _Duh_!" He shoved off from the suitcase, apparently secure enough to separate from it.

A thought raced through Shuichi's mind, wondering if it was locked, if he could perhaps find an opening to grab it. But as much as he yearned for more information, he couldn't just violate his privacy like that. He'd already decided...he would wait for Kokichi to reveal more to him on his own. And already, it seemed to be working...he was _here_ , after all. The mysterious lab that no one else had been able to locate.

"Weren't you even listening? How oblivious can you be? Yup, my lab was right here beneath your feet the whoooole time!" Kokichi spun around on one foot and began to rock back and forth again, grinning.

_I guess that's what that was supposed to mean... I showed him my lab, so he's "showing me his"..._

"Well...it looks like you certainly snuck it past me." Despite the nervous pit inside him, Shuichi gave a small smile. Because...this was wonderful. A warm thought recognized that this was...Kokichi opening up to him, if only a tiny bit. Showing him something he'd never shown anyone else. He was getting through...bit by bit...and he was rewarded with a sliver of happiness.

"Yeah, cause you're totally useless. It would've taken you _months_ to find this place on your own--maybe even _years_." Kokichi finally stopped rocking, though one of his fingers began to twirl through the strands of his hair, pulling and fidgeting with it.

Shuichi had actually noticed him doing that every now and then throughout the day--just tugging and winding his hair around his index finger while he read something or contemplated something. He found himself wondering if it was some sort of nervous habit, though he definitely didn't seem nervous in any other capacity. But everyone had these little things they did to reassure themselves--Shuichi's was reaching to tug at the brim of his hat, even when it wasn't there, and clutching at his shoulder and chest area. That subconscious habit was just a tiny piece of who he was, and he shouldn't be surprised that Kokichi had one too.

Kokichi proceeded to brag about his "power" and "influence", showing off the high-tech features on the suspended car and the infinitely scrolling mass of text that was flowing through the computer screens. It just looked like gibberish to Shuichi, though he wasn't a programmer. Kokichi insisted that it was all encoded government secrets, and he had no way of really proving or disproving that.

"What's DICE?" Shuichi finally asked, indicating the odd emblem on the wall. It displayed those four letters, as well as two diamonds, one a sort of E surrounded by a C, and the other a split clown face, crying and smiling. "Is...that the name of your organization?"

"Oh...nah," Kokichi plainly replied, giving the symbol a brief glance. "Of course not. It's a secret organization--how many times do I have to tell you? Even Monokuma doesn't know anything about it. He just made up this symbol to stick up there and look cool. It does look pretty cool, though!"

_Lie...?_ Shuichi glared, trying to determine, but Kokichi didn't give an inch. Even though he couldn't be sure, he thought...it might be a lie. That symbol..."DICE"...it seemed just the tiniest bit recognizable to him.

"Nyeeheehee! I wonder what was going through the Mastermind's head when they came up with that, though? What does 'DICE' even stand for?" He ticked one finger at the letters, thinking it through. "Maybe...'Domination of International Corporate Enterprises'. That sounds pretty fitting."

"'Dangerous...Intelligent...Comedic...Entertainment'?" Shuichi though aloud, aimlessly filling in words, and Kokichi smirked at him, seemingly enjoying the little game.

"Mmm, not quite. Maybe more like...'Despair-Inducing Catastrophic Event'."

"....'Definitely Inconspicuous Clown Entourage'."

"Pfhahahahahaha! What the hell kind of organization would that be? You're so dumb, Shuichi." Kokichi snickered into his upraised fist, and Shuichi found himself wondering if maybe that was close. With that kind of reaction, it just might be.

_DICE, huh?_ Mentally, he made a note to research it--find out for sure if it really was just a fictional name or not. Kokichi seemed to have given up on the name guesses--perhaps another indicator--and so, Shuichi moved on to examining something else he found weirdly out-of-place.

"I might be able to understand the gas masks and stuff..." he mused, stepping closer to the racks of supplies on the left wall. "But...these glasses..."

"Oh, they're disguises!" Kokichi casually chirped, hopping after him and flashing him a beaming grin. "My underlings can't just go out in public looking like their usual selves, you know."

"Uh..." Shuichi narrowed an eye, giving him a sideways, incredulous look. _He must know. He's got to be joking around. Obviously, these are terrible disguises. No criminal organization would ever wear something so ridiculous..._

"Hey! I see that doubtful look! How dare you!" Kokichi's eyebrows scrunched in, his face seeming snippy and annoyed. "You don't believe me, even when I'm revealing some of my _deepest_ secrets to you. You're awful. And I know what you're thinking. You're thinking these are terrible disguises, that they would never work, that I'm obviously lying. But no way! You're being so dense that I don't even _feel_ like lying to you!"

_Isn't...that a good thing? Or is it bad?_

Before Shuichi could make a vocal reply, Kokichi dashed forward, snatching a pair of the Groucho glasses from the shelf and flicking them onto his face with one effortless motion.

"You see--" He had on an air of authority, though the image of the plastic mustache and nose on his face actually made Shuichi stifle a chuckle. His fingers tapped at the side of the glasses, the purple of his eyes dangerously flashing under the darkened lenses. "If you saw someone wearing this, they would totally stand out. But then, you'd think they were standing out _too much_. There's no way an agent of the evil underworld would be wearing something like this, right? It's too _obviously_ suspicious. Being totally inconspicuous by being totally conspicuous...it's a very valid, and very potent, strategy."

Kokichi finally lifted the glasses, resting them on his forehead, and revealed a small, wicked smile. And Shuichi's brain was momentarily paralyzed.

_That...that's weird, but... It kind of...makes sense? In a weird way? I don't know whether that's brilliant or just foolish. What...the heck? Is that really the kind of thing members of his organization wear? And for that reason?_

Shuichi had to reel his thoughts back in, eyes drifting to the other "disguise wear" on display. "And...I presume the clown wigs are the same sort of thing...?"

"Of course!" Kokichi huffily planted his fists on his hips. "Though doing the glasses _and_ the wig might be a bit overboard--usually they just go with one or the other."

_This is too bizarre_ , Shuichi thought, and definitely not for the first time today. _Why is he so weird? Nothing about him makes any bit of sense. But, I should just come to expect it at this point._

"Oh! And look at this!" Suddenly, Kokichi zoomed over to a corner, next to the car, and scooped something off the ground. "Just wait 'til you see it! You're gonna be soooo jealous!"

It was some type of game pad, Shuichi deduced...a handheld device with a joystick and buttons. Kokichi was quivering with mischievous excitement as he pressed a few of those buttons and began to wiggle the stick around...and then...

_WhirrrrrrrrrRRR!_ Shuichi ducked just in time. The mechanical noise buzzed into his eardrum, and the panic thankfully seized him at the right moment. A rather large remote-controlled model helicopter swooped over his head, the bottom skids just barely missing the point of his antenna-hair, and Kokichi broke into outright laughter.

"Nyeeheeheeheehee! Careful, there! I almost completely decapitated you, Shuichi! Wouldn't that have been a shame."

"Yeah." Shuichi lightly ground his teeth as he worked to calm his nerves and lift himself back up on shaking legs. "Murder by toy helicopter would've been terrible."

"Nyeehee, I beg to differ. It would've been interesting, at least!" Kokichi brought the helicopter into a gentle hover at the center of the room. "And it's not a toy! This is an exact model replica of one of my organization's vehicles! Monokuma probably couldn't fit a real one in here with the car, so he went with this. It's disappointing, but oh well, what can you do?"

Showing off, he guided the helicopter in a few tight circles, making it do quick little dives and bobbing like an excited bird. If not for this whole location, if not for the circumstances surrounding all of this, he might've just looked like a normal, happy boy, playing with his toy helicopter. And it was a weird disconnect, looking at him like this. That something so childish and seemingly innocent and harmless could actually be so potentially dangerous. It certainly left a scrap of anxiety in Shuichi's chest. If only he could say for sure...

"Hey, do you wanna give it a try?" After a moment, Kokichi held the controller out towards him, grinning. "I'll let you drive it just for a little bit, if you want."

"Uh...sure, I guess." What a strangely friendly exchange... With an awkward smile, Shuichi reached out for the controller, and...

"N-ope!" Kokichi swiped it away as soon as he got close, holding it tauntingly above his head. "Sorry, I lied. None for you, Shuichi."

Shuichi only shook his head, chuckling under his breath at these immature antics. _Of course._

"Nyeehee, but you wouldn't've been able to control it anyway, even if I gave it to you! It's got a touch sensor on it that's specifically encoded to my thumbprint. Anyone else tries to use it, and it'll just lock up! Isn't that awesome?!"

_Did...Monokuma really go that far with it?_ "Yeah...impressive..."

" _God_ , put some more effort into your sarcasm, will you?"

"I wasn't being sarcastic, I just...I don't really know what to say."

"Say that it's awesome, and now that you've seen all the cool shit we've got, you just _have_ to join my organization and serve me for the rest of your life."

"Uh...nnnnno thanks."

Wait...was _that_ what this was all about? This wasn't the first time Kokichi had proposed he join his evil organization--it was one of the first things he'd even asked, after introducing himself. Shuichi just figured he was always looking to recruit anyone who mildly interested him. But was this...a more serious proposition? For him to reveal his hidden talent lab and everything...

Kokichi's expression was half a pout, half a scowl. "What? Is all of this not _good_ enough for you? Do you need to see even _more_ cool gadgets? Cause, you haven't even seen _this_ yet...!"

Dropping the remote control, he raced up the deep blue platform and practically tossed himself into the chair at the head of the room. As casually as if flipping a light switch, he poked a button somewhere below its right arm, and the outlining edges lit up in neon blue. Then...the round connector below the chair extended...and it began to slightly hover up in place. It wasn't just a throne, but a _hover_ throne. Shuichi had to admit that he was just the slightest bit impressed. Monokuma had certainly spared no expense on this place...it almost matched Kiibo's and Miu's labs in the advancement of technology.

Kokichi's legs crossed, and he rested his elbow on one arm, placing his chin in his hand, staring down at Shuichi's dwarfed form. And all at once, his playful, hyperactive demeanor was gone...replaced by something cold, cunning, and confident. The narrowed glow of his eyes was attempting to pierce Shuichi's heart, though he refused to waver. "And...what makes you think you have a _choice_ in the matter?"

"...I always have a choice," Shuichi shot back. He took a single step forward, exiting the center ring and coming just a bit closer to the supreme leader looming over him. "I can simply refuse to follow your orders."

"Heh..." Kokichi's smirk grew thinner, more stretched and crazed. "What you don't realize is that the door to this room locks from both sides with my passcode. When you weren't looking, I locked us in. You're trapped here with me until you do what I want, now. Sound familiar, you hypocrite?"

Shuichi resisted the feeling of his heart dropping. The stinging was shoved aside. No, this was another of his strategies. It had to be. Whether it was true or not didn't even matter.

"And what I want...is for you to agree to join my organization of evil and bind yourself to doing my heinous bidding...forever. Give your life over to me. You won't be walking away from here a free man, Shuichi."

The intimidation tactics might have worked, if he hadn't been so deep in thought, if something in his heart hadn't been telling him not to be afraid. That there was no reason to worry... And everything he'd seen, everything he'd observed up until now...

"Kokichi..." Shuichi cupped his fingers around his mouth in contemplation, though he spoke up clearly. "This organization...your talent... Is it really...what you claim it is? Because I think...it's something different."

"Ahaha. Are you doubting my title now?" In a bored motion, Kokichi flicked his hand towards the door at the opposite side. "If you can't bring yourself to accept my words, just check that plaque by the door. See? It says "Ultimate Supreme Leader lab". The Ultimate Initiative gave me that title. Do you really think they'd make a mistake? Do you really think they'd give someone a fake title, just for the fun of it? Even Maki's lab displayed her true talent. You just don't want to accept it. You don't want to admit that you're hanging around with the world's most powerful evil overlord."

"I...don't doubt that that's your real title..." Shuichi didn't even bother looking back at the plaque to confirm it. "But I've been thinking... Yes, when you hear the phrase "Supreme Leader", you think of someone evil and detestable...someone like a dictator or an oppressive emperor. But...that might not necessarily be what it means. It could just mean...that you make a good leader. That you have exceptional leadership qualities."

Kokichi seemed slightly amused, sitting further back in the throne and swinging his legs. "So that's how you're going to interpret it, huh? Sometimes it's really not that deep, you know."

"No...but it's a possibility." With nervous, yet resolute energy, Shuichi pressed his hand to his shoulder. "And it's a possibility I can't just ignore."

Kokichi's organization...whatever it was, he was somehow certain...it wasn't something terrible. It couldn't be. He was absolutely positive, as much as Kokichi himself tried to disprove it.

"Well...if you just want to keep deluding yourself, I suppose that's fine." Kokichi lowered his head, masking a chuckle...and he slid himself forward, using the armrests, to the very edge of the chair. It was only then that Shuichi really noticed how small he was in comparison...the chair was actually too big for him. A throne too large and grandiose for its tiny, withering occupant.

Then he lowered the chair and leaned forward...stretching his right hand forward, offering it to the determined Shuichi with an unreadable smile. "Join me."

Shuichi's body was rooted to the reflective floor. But for a second, once more...the world _pulsed_ around that outstretched hand. It wasn't even the same hand he'd grabbed yesterday, but just the sight... That pale, bony hand unfolding towards him, palm upturned, folded skin and lines...

His shoe slid forward across the smooth surface. That very gesture...that open, inviting gesture...it was exactly... _exactly_...

_I reach out to Kokichi, but he doesn't take my hand._

When had he made that observation? When had he decided that Kokichi never would meet his hand? When had he deduced that the very vision before him in this moment was impossible? He didn't know. He couldn't be sure. But what he did know was that this truth...his previous truth...was being shattered to pieces. Because here was Kokichi...offering his hand to him...willingly...openly. And he couldn't just ignore it. Never. Never, never would he let himself turn away...to reject the hand miraculously extended towards him in this incredible time and space. An impossibility was coming to pass.

And all at once, Shuichi shoved himself forward, desperate to seize this one impossible opportunity before it faded into blurry nothingness once more. His feet tapped, echoing up the steps...and his arm flung forward, his hand landing directly into that ghastly apparition of an open palm. Squeezing. And Kokichi squeezed back.

Just when his breath began to rejoin his lungs, Shuichi found his hand, his arm, being yanked forward. His body clumsily tripped to keep up, and he nearly toppled over the top step. His head, his shoulder was suddenly very close to Kokichi's slightly twisted face, and he swore he could smell the lingering caramel sweetness on his breath.

"Good." His whispered hiss shot a tiny pin into Shuichi's chest. "I'm glad you've made the right choice. You're mine now, Shuichi. And you can no longer escape."

Instinctual fear slithered through his system, his desperate breath puffing out against Kokichi's cheek. But deep inside, he trailed securing chains through his psyche, assuring himself that _this_ was...a good thing. A development. He didn't let the fear flood out.

And Kokichi gently released his hand, letting him straighten on the step before him. The throne clicked back into its locked position, and Kokichi stood again, almost on the same level now that Shuichi was standing on a lower step.

He laughed. He congratulated and welcomed him. He made a few more vaguely threatening statements. But Shuichi couldn't stop softly flexing that hand, fingers curling over the spot where their hands had met in a symbol of solidarity. An action of promise, of partnership, a binding of purpose. He was right. There was no going back. There was no return from this deal, this pact, this...friendship. It had been done. The impossible had come to pass.

"Alright, we can leave now. Let's go, my underling."

The door hadn't truly been locked. And though Shuichi knew he should quail at being called "underling", some part of him almost recognized it. "Sidekick"..."underling"...it wasn't all that bad. A new title to add to his list.

One part of his evil speech definitely had been true in the end. Because Shuichi emerged from that underground passage to a changed, and hopefully better, future.

\---

As expected, dinner was terribly awkward. Kokichi insisted on Shuichi sitting beside him, otherwise it would be breaking his "promise", and everyone was giving him strange, questioning glances. Kaede was the first to look over at him, probably wondering why he wasn't sitting with her, but he gave her a nervous, apologetic look, until she finally seemed to understand.

Kaito was the first one to voice the obvious question. "Hey, Shuichi...why're you sitting with him?"

"Nyeeheehee! Isn't it obvious? It's because he's suuuuuch a nasty little--tmmmph!"

Shuichi took the initiative and shoved a scoop of omrice into his mouth to shut him up. "Well...I promised Kokichi that I would spend the whole day with him today. I don't want to break my promise."

Kokichi chuckled so much that he almost choked, but he did, indeed, swallow the bite. "Oh, _sure_ , like that's the _ooonnnly_ reason..."

"Shuichi would never break a promise! Because Shuichi is a good person! Just like a true gentleman!" Gonta gave Shuichi a bright smile from the other side of the table, and its purity made him feel just a little bit better about all of this.

"Pfha, unlike you. You're such a brain-dead brute, everyone knows it's impossible for you to be a gentleman. They're all just sparing your feelings and ridiculing you behind your back." Again, Kokichi spat pure venom at the burly entomologist, who was immediately flustered and anxious.

"Ah! D-Does everyone...really think that?!"

Once again, Kaito, Tsumugi, Kiibo, Kaede, and pretty much everyone else joined in to reassure the poor, panicking Gonta. Tenko nearly punched Kokichi, before Kirumi interrupted, restoring the peace with a beautiful apple pie she'd cooked for dessert.

Shuichi almost found himself apologizing, as if Kokichi was his misbehaving brat of a child . It truly did make his chest clench, though...the awful, hurtful things he always said to Gonta. That was another thing he definitely needed to look into...

Throughout the meal, Shuichi kept a silent watch on Kokichi, despite the awful way he teased and bullied his classmates. Eventually, the scrawny boy managed to finish half his plate of omrice and a tall glass of water. He'd opted out of his usual grape soda because he already had way too much sugar in his system. There was an inevitably horrible sugar crash in his future, after all.

Shuichi prodded him into eating a banana, desperate to get some sort of fruit into him for today, and he actually agreed...though, of course, he made obscene faces and noises while consuming it, which annoyed and disgusted everyone who wasn't Miu.

Once everything was finished, Shuichi watched out of the corner of his eye as Kokichi leaned back in his chair and gave his stomach a pat. His eyes shifted over, suggestively grinning at him, and he couldn't help internally groaning. _Don't do that in front of everyone, please._

Even so, Shuichi was...proud. Kokichi had agreed to eat, with barely a struggle. Even with all the candy still not completely digested, he'd managed to fit a small meal into himself and at least appeared to not entirely hate it. He was so nice and full, and the happiness of that knowledge outweighed the attraction of the kink in that moment. Maybe...coming to grips with it had helped in that aspect. Now...if he could hopefully get his weight back up to a healthy level...

A tiny wave of affection went through Shuichi's mind, and he had the split-second urge to stroke Kokichi's cheek, though he immediately quelled it and felt weird about it. Just the thought that he was helping him...he was slowly getting healthier... _Please, Kokichi, keep this up. You're doing so well._

Nothing too exciting happened for the rest of the evening. Shuichi and Kokichi took a quick stroll through the courtyard, though nothing really came of it. They ran into Miu and Kiibo together at one point, and also Tenko and Himiko. Were they...pairing off? Was that a date thing? Was _this_ a date thing? Did everyone _think_ it was a date thing? Nevertheless, after Shuichi prevented Kokichi from angering them too much, they decided to retire to the dorms a little bit early. Shuichi wondered if that sugar crash was beginning to kick in, but Kokichi denied being tired, instead insisting that he was sick of Shuichi's presence, which he was pretty sure was a lie. At least, he hoped it was a lie...

He was actually reluctant to bring him back to his room for the night. In his mind's eye, he envisioned the deep, darkened patches concealed below Kokichi's eyes...the unsettled thrashing of his small body under the covers as he fought against the poison his own brain was pumping into him.

Those tired splotches had faded after the restful sleep he'd managed to give him last night, but... If he just let him go like this--if he just left him alone like this...

It was a terrible mental image--Kokichi tossing and turning, painfully groaning, sucking in gathering tears all night long as he desperately attempted to sleep. Every time he drifted off, some horrific thought would jolt him awake again. After a few times, he'd probably give up on it and force himself up for the remaining hours. Shuichi absolutely did not want that happening to him again. It hurt, just imagining it...realizing that these things had been going on since day one.

He followed Kokichi up the stairs and to his door, loathe to turn away. Kokichi laughed and joked about what a good underling he was turning out to be, already acting as his bodyguard. The chatter went straight through Shuichi's ears. A dread feeling was gathering within him, as if he were sentencing him to a long night of torture. He just wanted to follow, hold his hand again and comfort him, so he could sleep...but he couldn't find any way to broach that subject. Kokichi had given no indication that he even remembered the hand-holding...and he probably wanted to avoid acknowledging it altogether. Because it was just too personal, too true, and that had Shuichi even more intrigued.

"Welp..." Kokichi whirled on his heels when they reached his door. "We sure did a lot today--we stared at some books, you shoved candy into my face, we almost died a few times, and you signed your life away to me forever! Pretty good day, I'd say. I'll take my junk now."

_I didn't sign any sort of contract, though--I only shook your hand._ Shuichi decided to keep that argument to himself, though, as Kokichi breached his personal space to rifle through his messenger bag, extracting the case files and the ray gun. He tucked them casually under one arm, and Shuichi tried to imagine what he was going to do with them. Maybe he'd pore over the case files tonight, as a distraction from sleeping. That thought...hurt.

The large, purple orbs of Kokichi's eyes slid to the side, as if looking past him for a moment. And then...his voice suddenly lowered, his usual grin pressing into a frown. "Shuichi..."

A tiny tug at Shuichi's lungs...wondering if he was about to be serious with him here. No one else was in the dorm lobby at the moment...he'd probably been checking to make sure. "What is it...?"

"I wasn't joking, you know."

_About what?_ There were literally a hundred things that statement could apply to.

"Your life...is mine now."

And...something began to _change_ about Kokichi's entire being. His head dipped, a silent darkness gathering...and when he lifted it again, Shuichi's breath froze.

He'd never before seen _this_...whatever this _was_. Kokichi's eyes were squeezed tightly into demented crescents, his mouth stretching into an impossibly wide crack, slicing his cheeks. This...wasn't a face any sort of sane person would be able to make. And yet...something about it was hauntingly familiar.

"You think this is all just a little game, don't you? That you'll get me 'open up' to you if you go along with my plans... But what you don't realize is that I've got you right where I always wanted you, Shuichi..."

Shuichi's mind was struggling to fight it, to hold on to the truths he'd decided to pursue. This wasn't...he wasn't going to let these words inject him with doubt now. No. No, no...

"All that stuff about working with you... Letting you indulge in your sick little fetish... Sharing my _secret_ lab with you... It was all to get you to lower your guard. And _that's_ the 'truth' you've been chasing. It's too late for you now. You can try to resist me all you want, but my agents are watching. Even now. We'll make your life a living hell."

And Shuichi nearly screamed, a reactionary shock, as Kokichi--or whatever creature was standing before him now--suddenly _morphed_ once again. Shadows descending over his skin, eyes bulging white and filled with madness, tiny red veins visible, a mouth that barely even resembled a mouth anymore, lips so twisted and peeled back. And a voice, a voice raised and crackling with crazed, malicious energy.

"I will _destroy_ you, Shuichi Saihara! There is _no escape_! And I can't wait to watch you _break_ and _beg_ for death at my knees!"

Ice cold dread and horror shuddered through Shuichi's chest, down his arms, into his stomach, and it almost obliterated his resolve. Every signal from his body was telling him to run...to get away from this _thing_ as quickly as possible. But...

_It's... That's what...he wants..._

This Kokichi looked ready and very willing to tear out all of his internal organs one by one, all while cackling like a psychopath. Yet some other part of his brain was activating. He could see this same face, this same insane, sadistic Kokichi screaming before several of their gathered classmates.

_"I would never cry for Gonta!" "Nothing pleases me more than inflicting pain on others!"_

What did _Gonta_ have to do with any of this?! But he could think about that later. Right now...right now...

_It's not...real._ A compelling, gripping urge was growing inside Shuichi's consciousness. An inner, buried voice. And it told him to just forget it. To ignore it. It whispered a feeling, hunch, a nagging belief... It told him that this face--this horrifying, demonic face, straight from the depths of hell--was Kokichi's ultimate weapon. A mask to surpass all other msaks. And he wouldn't...he _couldn't_ allow it to do its job. He couldn't afford to give up now, to leave and allow him to scare him off. He couldn't. He couldn't. He absolutely, absolutely couldn't.

So, despite the dark, threatening aura, despite the trembling in his arm, despite the horrific fear in the back of his heart, Shuichi reached out...and lightly smacked Kokichi's forehead, right between his two bulging eyes.

His head was forced down, wispy bangs covering the view of his face, and Shuichi gasped for air, retracting his quivering fingers. What had he done?! Oh, God, oh God, what had he done?!

But...when Kokichi raised his head again...his face had popped back to normal, as if released from a spell. And he broke into _laughter_. "Ahaha! Ahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!"

"Um..." Shuichi's voice was nervous and soft, but his nerves were slowly, slowly beginning to calm down. At least that face was gone now.

"You...you _hit_ me!" Kokichi chuckled, choking on his own mad laughter. "You just reached out and smacked me! What's wrong with you, Shuichi?! Are you completely insane?!"

"Uh...I..." Shuichi realized he couldn't figure out any way to explain his actions. There was no logical reason for any of this. Nothing made any sense. "I just...I..."

His hands clenched. Despite the sweat gathering at his neck, he hardened all of his resolve. "...You don't scare me."

"Really?" Kokichi continued to snicker, eyes narrowed, but thankfully, not as crazed anymore. "Can you really afford not to take me seriously, though? Your entire life is on the line..."

"I don't...care." _I'm not going to let him drive me away. Especially not now. We...made a pact, didn't we?_

"Boy, you sure are a masochist! But...at least you never fail to entertain me."

Kokichi finally straightened, his body and his demeanor falling back into their usual relaxed, joking aura. And he gave him a bright grin. "Ah well, whatever you want. Night-night for now, Shumai." And without warning, he was suddenly gone, falling back into his room and slamming the door in his face.

All was disconcertingly quiet, and Shuichi took the moment of respite to gather his faculties. Again, he'd received some sort of vision... Was he right about this? That _that_ persona of his...was just a potent defense mechanism? He'd...managed to break him out of it, at least. _So this is what my life has come to..._

After a moment, Shuichi began to softly descend the staircase, and a comforting sight greeted him at the bottom.

"Oh! There you are! Are you all set now?"

Kaede's kind smile was just what he needed to soothe him after that...encounter. He breathed out all the excess anxiety, letting her presence reassure him. "Y-yeah. We're done."

"Are you doing alright?"

"I...think so."

Kaede crossed her arms with a cute little huff. "Jeez, you're way too nice, Shuichi. If it were me, I would've ditched him halfway through the day."

He gave a light-hearted laugh. "Ahaha. It's okay. I survived."

Despite her indignant expression, Kaede smiled when she noticed him laughing for real, and gave a tiny chuckle of her own, her blonde antenna bouncing. "We should get you a commemorative T-shirt. 'I survived Kokichi Ouma'."

And that set them both laughing, secure in their mutual friendship and trust in each other.

Thus, Shuichi decided to spend the rest of the remaining nighttime hours with her, just chatting and recounting the day's events. He told her all about the things he'd done with Kokichi, though he definitely left out the part about the feeding game. She seemed pretty surprised to learn about the things he'd seen in his lab, but that was only to be expected. He wasn't sure if that was supposed to be a secret, but...it wasn't like any of them could actually break in.

All in all, after spending a while with his best friend, Shuichi felt a lot better by the time it was finally time to retire to his room for the night. Stepping inside, a part of him clenched, remembering that Kokichi was still alone in his room, probably unable to sleep...but there was nothing he could do about it now. He doubted he'd actually open his door, no matter how much he rang the bell or pounded against it.

But, unfortunately, what he hadn't anticipated was...having trouble sleeping himself. There was far too much to think about. His fetish, which was real and a part of him, and he couldn't fight against it anymore. The visions--were they flashes of the future, of alternate histories, or were they just hallucinations created by his deteriorating mind? And...

Even as he closed his eyes and tried to let himself drift away, it just wouldn't come to him. His consciousness was filled with the images, the thoughts of...Kokichi. Everything that had happened today, every expression he'd made, every small, incongruous movement. It was just...the uncertainty. He couldn't help dwelling on the mystery, trying to piece him together from all the tiny bits and pieces he'd gathered thus far. Right? That was the reason...that had to be the reason the troublesome purple-haired boy filled his head...because he was just so confusing.

His typical cheeky, toothy smile, the tiny, ghostly white form of his body as he ran down the hallway, the flirtatious arcs of his eyebrows, the excited light in his eyes, the horrific, bulging eye whites of insanity, the calm, soothed resting face of peaceful slumber... The sound of his high-pitched giggles and snickers, the tiny bulge of his cheeks munching a morsel of food, the warm feeling of his fragile body against his... He just wouldn't leave Shuichi alone, even when Shuichi was alone. Maybe this was what he'd meant by "you're mine now". Half of him never wanted to see him again, and another, stronger half, wanted to see him again as soon as possible.

_I'm slightly obsessed with him_ , Shuichi reluctantly realized. But was he just obsessed with the mystery...of trying to figure him out...or was it something else? He had to force the darkness to conjure other images, just so his heart would stop fluttering.

Kokichi...had so much _more_ just under his surface, and it was drawing him ever closer in. He would know him...he would save him... If it was last thing he'd do on this earth, he'd support this ailing soul. The dedication came straight from his heart, blotting out his lingering feelings of dread and uncertainty. _Kokichi._ Kokichi was important to him. No matter what.

And slumber finally claimed him, eased in his self-declaration, the affirmation of his feelings. Knowing him...he would know himself first. And accept every piece, accept what revealed itself before him, accept the hand extended towards him. It was essential...and it was what his heart truly, honestly desired.

Kokichi. Kokichi...would be his, too.

\---

In the serenity, the maelstrom, the mystery of the night, it began... An eternity of suffocating, drowning, crushing terror. No way out. It was time. Two, three attempts...it couldn't end this way.

Reverberating through the very fabric of time, echoing through the sphere of existence...a tiny squeak.

And the course of history changed.


	4. To Trust

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! It's been a while, hadn't it? But I haven't abandoned this story! I've just had a lot going on in my life recently (good things!). Thank you for sticking with me all this time! 
> 
> The good news is that I've recovered my laptop computer, which means I can start writing on MS Word again (I've been using WordPad thus far), so editing won't take such an annoyingly long time. Yaaaaaay! 
> 
> I feel like I may have tried to jam too many different things into this one chapter, but, hey, at least it's a big, plot-heavy one after such a long hiatus. Very little kink to look out for in this one, so it's pretty safe. Also, thank you so, so much for over 300 kudos! That's incredible! I'm still a little stunned. I'm so grateful to all of you. Love ya!

Chapter 4: To Trust

Shuichi's body felt stiff and heavy when it finally woke. His sleep had been dreamless and barely more than a blip in his consciousness. But as soon as the pitchy chattering from the Monokubs on the monitor died off, he found himself wondering, imagining...

Was Kokichi already awake? Had he slept at all? Or was he lying in bed just like him right now, blankly staring at the ceiling? Was he fearful and suffering, just like he'd been that night...?

_I'm wasting too much time worrying about him_ , he finally told himself and hauled his body out of bed, stumbling towards the bathroom. It was true, though--he'd been spending quite a lot of time thinking about Kokichi, while Kokichi probably barely considered him. Yet, deep inside, he knew he couldn't stop He'd already tried. And...he intended to follow through on this weird relationship until every last enigma was shattered.

When Shuichi finally arrived, the dining hall was buzzing, as usual. He wasn't the last to arrive--that honor went to Tsumugi, Ryoma, and Himiko--but he still felt a bit late to the party. Everyone was talking about some sort of "prize"...

"Calm down," Maki grumbled. "It's probably just some stupid casino coins."

"I don't care what it is!" Tenko insisted. "I just want to be the one to win!"

"Indeed, indeed!" Angie cheerfully agreed. "Atua tells me that the _true_ prize is in the bonds you have formed with another! Such material possessions do not matter."

"Speak for yourself!" Miu burst out. "But _I'm_ hopin' for a massive fuckin' dildo! With a tentacle nib and pump action! That's the only way to satisfy me! Whahahaha!"

Shuichi took a seat beside Kaede, who gave him a gentle smile and a quiet greeting, as always. "What are they talking about?" he asked, wondering if he even really wanted to know the answer.

"Oh! Did you sleep through the morning announcement?" Kaede served herself some soup as she explained. "The Monokubs said that the most eligible bachelor or bachelorette would receive a special prize sometime today. I have no idea what that means, though. It might be just a dumb joke."

Maybe...but there was really no point in discussing it. Whatever this "prize" was, if it wasn't something to help them escape, he really couldn't care less...and it seemed like Kaede felt the same way.

Immediately, Shuichi couldn't keep his eyes from wandering over to Kokichi's petite form on the other side. He was being strangely quiet--he'd only made fun of Kiibo twice thus far. And he was dunking a bread roll into his soup, but not eating either...just letting it sink and soak up as much broth as it could. He searched his face for signs of sleep deprivation, but obviously, he would've just covered it up with makeup again. Even so, he felt strangely certain that he hadn't slept.

With an internal groan, Shuichi thought he might be turning into Kokichi's personal caretaker. He just...wouldn't sleep or eat if he didn't keep on his case about it. _Why_? If it really wasn't some sort of depression or eating disorder, then _why_? He really needed to stop worrying about him so much, but then again, if he _didn't_ worry about him, no one else would. And he couldn't help it.

Just when Shuichi had made up his mind to confront him after breakfast, an unexpected wrench summarily lodged itself in his plans. Everyone was still dully chattering, questioning and speculating about the prize...when Kokichi suddenly stood, drawing their attention.

"Well," he announced, just as suspiciously as ever, "While _you_ peons just sit around here blabbering, _I'm_ gonna go find out for myself!"

"Ha!" Miu taunted. "And what makes you think that fucktard bear is going to give it up for a pubeless little weenie boy like you?!"

"Oh." Kokichi's mouth stretched into his thin, evil smirk. "Wouldn't you like to know? Too bad. None of you will ever get to see it. Ciao for nooowwww..." And with that, he leapt out the door, a bolt of white lightning.

Shuichi's eyes lingered after him a moment in thought. His intuition told him that there had to be another reason he'd left so early, though he couldn't put a finger on what. It could be related to his lack of sleep--he just didn't have his usual energy and didn't want everyone else to notice. But...there had to be something else to it.

"Something on your mind?" Kaede's gentle voice spoke up near his shoulder, and it finally snapped him out of his thoughts.

_Can I maybe stop thinking about him for two minutes?_ "Ah...sorry, I'm still just a little tired." Shuichi internally chuckled as Kaede then launched into lecturing him about getting the proper rest. _I'm worrying about Kokichi, and she's worrying about me. It's like a chain reaction of concern._

But, somehow, through her speech, and through the other chatter around him, he picked up on an odd bit of dialogue.

"Ooh, do you really think...?" Angie's voice.

"Eh, maybe... Not like I would know." Rantaro.

"Hahaha! It's totally obvious! That little homo probably had to go butter up his asshole and that's the _real_ reason he...!"

"Miu! That's terribly rude! And your volume!"

Kiibo and the others somehow got her to quiet down, and Shuichi couldn't hear them anymore, but...that was weird. Had she been referring to Kokichi? And they were talking about him why...?

"Hey!" He turned back to face Kaede's ticked-off face, her normally soft pink eyes narrowed. "You're spacing out again! Have you even heard a word I've said?!"

"Ah...I-I'm sorry..." Shuichi lowered his head, truly ashamed of his inability to focus on his friend. "I really, really didn't mean to ignore you, honestly. I'm paying attention now, I promise."

She sighed. "You're coming to my lab with me this morning. No ifs, ands, or buts this time! I'm going to play you something nice and get you to stop that!"

Shuichi smiled, a chuckle pushing at his chest from her forceful caring. They really were quite similar in certain ways... For the remainder of breakfast, he made sure to listen to her, and she told him about the songs she'd practiced yesterday and how she'd hung out for a bit with Tsumugi and Rantaro. He had a brief talk with Kaito after breakfast, and he was ever encouraging and motivating, clapping him on the back and assuring him that he'd always be there for his "sidekick". God, how had he ever deserved such kind friends?

Shuichi followed Kaede to her piano lab, his spirits lifted. A small part of him wondered what Kokichi was doing now and worried about what he _could_ be doing off by himself without supervision. But he forced it out of his mind. He had to focus on Kaede now--he owed it to her after hardly spending any time with her yesterday. Though...a tiny, awkward piece of him was worrying about her, too.

_I hope she doesn't...have a..._ crush _on me...like, for_ real _... I don't want to hurt her. I want to be her friend. I want us to stay friends, forever..._ A stab of pain pressed into his heart when he thought that...his inability to return her feelings might tear them apart. _Kaede...you deserve someone who'll devote all of their passion and all of their life to you. You deserve the world. That's all I want for you. I love you...but that person isn't me._ This was a conversation he definitely never wanted to have, but he was already mentally preparing himself for it.

Nevertheless, a small piece of his burden lifted when he stepped into the Ultimate Pianist's Lab. This place had always felt so cozy to him...softly lit, lined with CD's of classical and jazzy piano music...and the grand piano sitting on its raised platform in the middle, waiting like an old friend. It was probably because Kaede had taken him here so soon after they both woke up...talking and working through each other's worries to the soothing background chimes of piano keys...but this place always felt so much more comfortable than his own lab.

"Alright!" Kaede herself visibly brightened as she twirled around to face Shuichi again, her golden hair falling around her face like a halo. "I hope you're ready to stretch those fingers! We haven't played together in a while!"

Shuichi formed a tiny smile...but it was the only response he could manage. And, of course, she picked up on it.

"And we're gonna talk, too! You're gonna tell me what's wrong! Their dumb delusions aren't getting to you, are they? They better not! Cause I'll tell them to stop it--you know I will."

"Huh?" Shuichi honestly didn't know what she was talking about. _Stop what? Well, obviously, it's not bothering me, because I don't even know what "it" is. Had they been talking about me? I thought I heard them talking about Kokichi, but..._

"Seriously." Kaede clenched her fists above her skirt. "I know how much you hate gossip like that. And I agree, it's stupid. I'll give them a piece of my mind the next time..."

"Uh... I...I have no idea what you're talking about." Shuichi sheepishly chuckled. "I didn't even notice, if I've been the subject of gossip recently. That...does make me a little uncomfortable, though. What could they even be saying?"

"Oh..." Kaede looked away for a split second, and he thought he picked up on a sliver of uncertainty in her mannerism. Her arms crossed over her pink vest. "Well..." One arm fell, pressed tightly to her side. "It's petty and stupid, but... After yesterday, there's this rumor going around that you and Kokichi are, like... _together_. That you have some sort of crush on him. It's crazy, though. I know that's not the case."

"Oh..." Part of Shuichi was shocked and another part wasn't, but he found himself feeling slightly warmer all the same. _How did that even start? Well, it was probably the Monokubs. Because no one saw us in the library... Nothing we did in front of anyone else should have led them to believe that. Well...Kokichi himself could have lied and told everyone we were in a relationship. Yeah, I wouldn't put it past him at all._

"I think it's so stupid, how people can't even hang out as friends anymore without everyone spreading rumors about them being romantically involved. Just leave people alone!" Kaede took a step closer towards her piano and laid one hand on it, as if drawing from its silent power. Her voice softened a little, but it was no less full of resolve. "Though...I want you to know that even if you were romantically involved with him...I'd support you."

Shuichi's breath hitched for just a second--he hadn't been expecting...this. _That's...nice? I guess? Uh...thanks?_

"I may not like Kokichi, and I probably won't ever get along with him, but...if you _were_ ever...interested in him, it wouldn't matter to me. It would never affect us being friends if you like someone that I don't."

_I really appreciate that, but...where is this coming from? Does she...believe that...? Even though she said she didn't? Maybe she just has some doubts and wants to make sure I'm not worried about her..._ Shuichi awkwardly picked at the edge of his jacket. "Um...thank you. I'm...happy to know that. I would do the same for you, too."

Kaede smiled, and a little bit of the tense atmosphere dissipated. "Good! I'm glad!"

Though she cheerfully launched into her plans for their duet, Shuichi still felt a tiny pit of awkwardness in his stomach. He kept up with her ideas and agreed to trying something slightly different on his end...yet, something just wasn't feeling _right_. After a few minutes, Kaede seemed to pick up on it--geez, he just couldn't hide anything from her.

"You're still not really relaxed, are you?" With determination, she strode over to the piano keys and placed her fingers in position. "Here. I'll play you a song first. Something to soothe your heart and make you forget all your worries. Okay?"

"Uh..."

Notes...the striking of notes and the caress of stringing piano tones flooded into Shuichi's mind in an instant...and Kaede hadn't even moved her fingers yet. The sound, the melody, the harmony...it was crawling deep into his heart, squeezing at it, and shooting tremulous, dreadful despair into his limbs, into his deepest bowels. What... _was_ that? That song...? Why did he know this song? And why was it so...terrifying?

Kaede's face was growing pale as he stared, just trying to process whatever was happening in his brain, in his body. He must have looked terrible...but he couldn't even worry about that now...because the room around him was suddenly darkening.

The warm lights were engulfed in a sheer, deathly darkness, and the piano stood alone at the center of the room, standing like a monument, a memorial, an ice-cold tomb. Shuichi's body took a desperate, shuddering breath. For a split-second, he felt as if he might scream, though he had no idea why. The music surrounded him like a soft phantasm, a blanket of pain, comforting and sorrowful all at the same time. Words appeared in his consciousness...words he was sure he'd never heard before, but words that were connected to this experience, entwined with his soul.

All at once, the piano room shot back to normal--Kaede had rushed closer to his side, her distant voice calling his name. His body was warming, the lights dawning over him again...and he was catching his breath, everything slowly returning to normal. _Another one...another one of those...visions..._

"Ah, I'm sorry!" Poor Kaede was so worried, her forehead was beginning to perspire. "If you don't want to hear anything right now, that's fine! I just..."

"N-No..." Shuichi pressed a palm to his forehead, steadying his psyche, and looked back to her, heart slightly sore. "I'd like that, really. Just not...not that one song... That one song...C-Clair de Lune."

"H-Huh?" Her eyes widened, pure pink pools of incredulity. "How did you know? That's...exactly what I was going to play for you. I didn't know you'd ever heard of it before."

"Uheh... Lucky guess?" Shuichi forced a tiny smile. But how _did_ he know? Was this some sort of psychic connection? Maybe he was somehow connecting minds with Kaede...and the same thing had happened before, with Kokichi. But that was impossible.

"Well, it's okay," Kaede straightened, probably trying to reassure herself as well. Shuichi was suddenly a bit embarrassed that he'd freaked out like that for seemingly no reason at all. But he didn't want to tell her--he couldn't tell her that he'd started seeing things. She'd just worry even more, never leave his side...and she might even blame Kokichi. But could he tell _anyone_?

"I'll just play you something else. Hmm...something else nice and calming..." She turned to scan through the collection of CD's on the wall, and Shuichi was a bit grateful for the moment to catch his breath.

_This is the first time that's happened when Kokichi isn't around. And...it's happening more frequently, too. I wish it would just stop._ Was he sick? Was he mentally ill? Did he need to submit himself to a health check by Kirumi? But no matter what it was, it was undoubtedly becoming more of a problem the more he ignored it.

_I've got to do something_ , Shuichi resolved, even as his mind began to calm down again, even as he listened to the gentle notes of Kaede's masterful playing and calmly sat beside her, taking in her warm presence. _I've got to figure this out._ And there were...a few options...

\---

The first thing Shuichi tried once he finally parted ways with a reluctant Kaede, was returning to his lab to take another look at those poison bottles. If he could somehow decode Kokichi's message, it might hold some clue about his visions. He had a strange inkling that Kokichi actually _knew_ \--or _thought_ he knew--what was happening to him...he just wouldn't tell him, of course. "Figure it out for yourself, Detective", is what he'd probably say if he asked. God, if only that little bastard would be straightforward with him, half of these problems wouldn't even exist.

For the next few hours, he tried all sorts of things...looking up the properties of the two poisons again, comparing them against the other poisons around them, trying to discern a pattern regarding bottle color or shape, looking for any patterns in their names, in their chemical compounds... Nothing. There was just nothing--nothing made sense about it. Shuichi was halfway convinced that he'd been wrong--it _wasn't_ actually a message, and Kokichi had just arranged them to _look_ like a message and trick him into wasting hours of his life trying to figure it out. He couldn't even re-check the case files, since Kokichi had taken those away for his own unknown devices.

_Dammit!_ Shuichi cursed to himself, slamming a fist against the arm of his chair, gritting his teeth in frustration. His fingers were quivering, his insides beginning to feel antsy and jumpy. He'd been at this for far too long. Regrettably, he realized he'd have to give it up for now...take a walk, clear his head, and...get a few things out of the way. It really wasn't like him to get so impatient, but...he had his own issues to deal with now. _I don't want to give up...it feels like I'm letting him win. But it won't do any good to keep trying when I can't concentrate. I need to go make today's casino visit. ...Man, I hate this._

As he traveled back through the school halls and down every flight of stairs, Shuichi tried not to feel too defeated. It wasn't going to be that easy, and he shouldn't have expected to find the answers right away.

Reaching the ground floor, he realized that he was hungry, and stopped by the dining hall for a quick lunch. Most of the girls were there, but he didn't really pay any attention to their conversation, and just devoured a sandwich before going on his way. Though, a part of him realized that he hadn't actually seen Kokichi at all since that morning. Where had he gone off to? He was probably skipping eating again, and that thought hurt. _I probably should have grabbed him and forced him to at least eat something before he ran off like that._ It hurt to think of how hungry he must be now...

"Ggh..." Everything was bugging him...the lack of progress on deciphering the message, the desperation for slot-coin action, and the horrible thought of Kokichi starving himself again. He was so distracted, as he stormed out of the school building, that he didn't even notice until the voice stopped him. A voice he definitely hadn't counted on hearing, and one that made him halt dead in his tracks.

"Well, well, well! If it isn't Mr. Popular himself! Took you long enough to show up!"

"Whuh...?"

Standing directly in the middle of the path leading to the casino area...was the robotic, ursine ringleader of this whole mess, supposed father of the Monokubs--the dreaded Monokuma himself. The grinning half of Monokuma's face seemed to stretch up just a bit, and he bounded closer to Shuichi's side, his bean-like feet making squeaky plastic noises. It was always incomprehensible, how these robot bears even worked...they paralleled Kiibo in their complexity, and yet they were just utterly ridiculous. But as Monokuma stopped before him, he noticed some sort of paper clutched in his white paw.

"I've been waiting for you all day, loverboy!" The bear growled. "How dare you keep your headmaster waiting?! I ought to put you in detention!"

"Uh...sorry?" Shuichi scratched at his chin. This was...completely unexpected. He knew that Monokuma sometimes hung out on the front steps of the school, but...why would he have needed to talk to him, specifically? It wasn't like he'd _told_ him to meet him...so...he couldn't actually punish him, could he? Just being in his presence set him on edge, though... The person responsible for their kidnapping and imprisonment was behind this thing, after all...it was sort of a representative, a stand-in for the mastermind. How could it not make him feel ill?

"Awww, well I guess I can forgive you this one time, Shuichi. After all..." Monokuma turned his body, displaying a sort of smile, before brandishing the roll of paper. "You're our big breakout star and our grand prize winner!"

" _What_?!" Shuichi cried out in honest shock. What...?! What had he even _done_?! He hadn't entered any kind of contest that he was aware of. _"Big breakout star"?! I'm not even that interesting! I don't_ want _to be any kind of star!_ Was Monokuma scheming something weird? Was this some kind of trap? But he couldn't very well run away, for fear of being "punished" by suddenly appearing Exisals. What did this even _mean_?!

"Oh, oh, don't act like you don't _know_!" Monokuma chuckled into his paws. "Upupupupu! You're the talk of the entire world!"

_The entire_ world _?!_ Shuichi knew that his classmates were gossiping about him, but...the show's viewers too?! Heat rose through his neck and into his face, red-hot and anxious. Everything...they'd seen everything. That's right. The whole world was watching his...weirdness. He'd been able to forget it for a while, but...the reality of his situation was smacking him in the face again. How was he ever going to live a relatively normal, safe life after all this?! Assuming he had one, of course. "A-Ah...! I never wanted...!"

"Welllll, too bad! You're our most eligible bachelor! Congratulations! Though...you had better watch yourself, hot stuff. Today might be your day in the limelight, but that could alllll could come crashing down! You're walkin' a thin line here, mister!"

"W-What are you talking about?!" Shuichi could hear the panic in his own voice, and tried to forcefully calm himself. Maybe he was overreacting--he had no idea. Then, that thing Kaede had told him at the breakfast table came floating back through his memory. The announcement...the most eligible bachelor or bachelorette would receive a special prize. _And...it's me? I'm going to receive the prize?_

"Oh, that's right!" Monokuma glared up at him. "You slept through my kids' perfect morning announcement, didn't you? And they practiced for weeks on it! ...Ah, but I didn't watch it either." He bounced backwards a bit, holding up the paw with the paper in it again. "Y'see, we held a poll with our viewers yesterday! We asked them to vote for their favorite couple thus far! Aaaaaand, ta-da!"

With a grandiose shake, Monokuma released the paper, letting it unroll into a long list--a bracketed chart with students' names and pixel-art graphics of them together. "Top Five Couples, as Voted By You!" was written across the top in neon lettering. Shuichi's eyes scanned over the list...and his heart uneasily quaked. But Momokuma was already reading them out loud, as if there could be any doubt.

"Number Five--Miu Iruma and K1-B0! Number Four--Tenko Chabashira and Himiko Yumeno! Number Three--Kaito Momota and Maki Harukawa! Number Two--Shuichi Saihara and Kaede Akamatsu! Aaaand..."

Shuichi had already seen it, of course, the instant he'd unrolled the paper...but he still tensed, having it fully confirmed by the cartoonish voice of the mascot bear.

"Number One! Shuichi Saihara and Kokichi Ouma!"

"B-But Kokichi and I are just friends! I think? Maybe? I'm not even really sure if we are yet." Shuichi hated how _sweltering_ he felt--his face was probably tomato-red. Even the outside world thought they were a couple now?! This was just too much. He couldn't _take_ this kind of teasing romantic speculation--it always got him too flustered to think straight, and that wasn't helping his case. He could just picture some of the viewers now, squealing "Oh, look! He's blushing! He really is in love!" "And...and Kaede and I are just friends, too! Just because we hang out a lot doesn't mean we're in love! For Pete's sake!"

Monokuma retracted the parchment and just stood there, shaking with laughter. "Playing for _both_ teams, there, eh, Shuichi? Not that I mind! Equal opportunity is welcome! _Anybody_ could ride that Shuichi train! We're open for business!"

For the first time since day one, Shuichi wished he had his hat back, just so he could bury his face in it.

"But you better watch your back! Jealousy could be brewing, you know. Oh, you player you..."

"For the last time--we're _not_ like that! _I'm_ not like that!" Though he could still feel the prickle of blush at his cheeks, Shuichi tore his eyes up to leer at the bear. "All you're doing is forcing this romance thing on us, when our feelings aren't even there! You won't let us be together without superimposing your own assumptions, your own stories on us! And that's just...cruel!"

"Cruel?" Monokuma tilted his round, flexible head. "I'm not the one dating two people at once."

"It's _not dating_!"

"Eh, whatever." Monokuma simply ignored his outburst. "You're making for sizzling drama, and that's all that matters in this world. Hey, here's your special prize, before you annoy me so much that I retract my generous offer."

Though Shuichi's insides were still slightly fuming, he curiously peeked down at the black paw Monokuma extended towards him. Whatever this "prize" was, he honestly didn't really care, but...if he could use it to help everyone somehow, then...it was worth a shot. Though he doubted Monokuma would give out anything that could really aid them, even to his "biggest star".

The black paw uncurled, and sitting inside it was...some sort of small device with a tiny rectangular box and an earbud clip. "A...headset?" That's what it looked like, anyway--like a communications headset you'd attach to one ear. Would this allow him to place a call? But who could he call? Certainly, Monokuma wouldn't allow him to contact anyone outside the school prison dome.

"Nope, not exactly!" Monokuma grinned with his toothy side as Shuichi carefully picked up the device, pinching it warily in his fingers. "That there is a _verrrry_ special little machine. It can do something truly amazing! But you have to find that out on your own! I ain't giving out any hints. But all I can say is that you should definitely wear it! When the time is right, it'll activate, and...well, something really super cool will happen!"

Shuichi skeptically raised an eyebrow. "It's not going to explode, is it?"

"Of course not! Geez!" Monokuma snapped at him, bearing his claws. "You think I'd waste en expensive device like this just to murder you? That's not a fun and exciting ironically talent-related execution at all!"

_I'm...just going to ignore that last part._ Nervous, Shuichi took a moment to examine the tiny headset. It had a clip to fit over his ear, a tiny in-ear speaker, and that silver metallic component which extended slightly outwards. Was that supposed to be the microphone part? It didn't look like it had any input area. On the outside of that piece, some letters and numbers were engraved-- "KOKORONPA v.3"

_So...I guess this is a "Kokoronpa, Version Three". Or maybe that's just the brand name._ He'd never heard of it before, but that wasn't unusual. He'd never seen anything resembling any of the other technology that surrounded them every day. There was a considerable risk to this, of course...he was loathe to trust anything Monokuma supplied. But when you thought about it logically...now that he was such a big star, the show couldn't afford to kill him. There would be riots in the streets. He was...oddly safe, in a way, at least from life-threatening danger. That didn't mean there wasn't some other heinous trap hiding in this device, of course.

Still... Carefully, Shuichi lifted the device...and affixed it to his ear. There was no sound--not even a beep--so he wondered if he even had it in correctly. The metal piece extended out from underneath his ear and he could see the end of it in his peripheral vision. Nothing seemed to be happening...but that's what Monokuma had said. It would "activate" at the "right time". _It better not suddenly scream in my ear._ As far as he'd seen, there was no volume control slider or scroll wheel anywhere on the thing. _Great. It probably will. It's probably supposed to startle me, so I'll jump into someone's arms for "romantic motivation" or something. I really shouldn't be doing this._

Nevertheless, there was this illogical feeling--a hopeless hope that maybe...this could do something for his situation. It was in his ear, after all...maybe it could somehow block out when he was hearing something weird...even if it was screaming at him, if it could break him out of those hallucinatory spells...

"There we go! Now you're more equipped to be our protagonist!" Monokuma gleefully chuckled. "Well, gotta skeedaddle, but I'll always be watching you, Shuichi! Make good use of that, now!" And with a sproing noise, the ursine host bounded back down the path, into the bushes and out of sight, just as suddenly as he'd popped up.

_Is this also a tracking device?_ Shuichi gently tapped his fingertips to the long metal piece. _Though I suppose he wouldn't really need that. He's got hidden cameras somewhere..._

It felt _wrong_ to just _agree_ to this...like he'd been transformed into a traitor, controlled by the wires pressed to his head. But he definitely, definitely wanted to know... _I'll just keep it on for today_ , he decided. _And if I don't figure out what its purpose is by tonight, I'm taking it off._

With his course set, Shuichi resumed his walk to his destination. On the way, something caught his eye...and his attention snapped up in that direction. Something vaguely white and dark at the top...

_Kokichi?_

Far off in the distance, standing near the courtyard, he finally caught sight of him. The small speck of Kokichi's back was there, and he was...talking to Miu? No one else seemed to be near them, so he couldn't imagine what in the world the two of them would have to talk to each other one-on-one about. Miu seemed a little bit angry or annoyed, gesturing wildly...but that wasn't a surprise, considering her conversation partner. Still, Shuichi couldn't help but wonder, and he almost decided to change course and head towards them, before they moved and were suddenly gone behind a giant metal crate.

_I have to catch him_ , Shuichi decided, clenching a fist. _After this...I definitely have to find him and talk to him._

It was mid-afternoon already... Slightly eager to be done with this, Shuichi turned and strode through the gate, into the casino area. He ended up spending about an hour at the casino, trying to forget his worries by smashing virtual people with a car and plopping coins into the slot machines, watching the rainbow of Monokub faces spin by. It wasn't doing much to numb the nervous energy inside him, though, and perhaps gambling was finally starting to lose some of its appeal. The headset hadn't done anything yet, though he kept it affixed to his ear the whole time. Oh, well.

Before leaving, he visited the prize counter, and he found himself glancing over the available knicknacks, wondering which one Kokichi would like. Monokuma had purposefully filled the store with items each of them would love, encouraging just this sort of gift-giving behavior. So, he knew one of them had to be the "Kokichi gift". There was the "Book of the Blackened"... Somehow, he knew the term "Blackened" referred to "murderers", though he couldn't exactly pin down where he'd heard that before. He did appear to enjoy reading about murder cases as much as he did himself... Yet...something made him decide against it. There was the water gun...Kokichi would probably love that, actually, but letting him have it meant leaving everyone else to get utterly soaked when they least expected it. At last, he decided on a board game of sorts called "Dangan Werewolf". It was about taking on roles and deceiving people or trying to discover the deceivers, so that definitely sounded like something he'd be into. It might not be "The One", but he felt pretty confident in it.

Afterwards, Shuichi took a quick trip back to his room to grab his bag and slip the game inside, before heading off to the dining hall. By now, he was starting to form a plan. Find Kokichi, open with the gift...and then feed him something, whether he wanted it or not. And he would need the bag to carry the food in. Unfortunately, there wasn't a whole lot that could be safely transported this way. Regrettably, Shuichi ended up shoving in several small bags of chips, some mini muffins and cookies, pretzels and crackers, little mixed fruit cups, a few bottles of grape soda, and finally some carrot sticks and dipping sauce, just to try to get something healthier in there. It was all snack food, but putting some of it all together could make a decent meal, right? The bag was heavy and cumbersome again by the time he walked out of the dining hall, avoiding a few suspicious glances from Tsumugi, Angie, and Rantaro, as the three of them entered.

_I need to find him_ , Shuichi told himself...his inner heart told him. He hadn't seen any trace of him since that one sighting in the courtyard, and it was starting to concern him more and more. Normally, he popped up everywhere he went. But now...was he actively _avoiding_ him? Why would he _do_ that? He'd just made Shuichi his "underling", hadn't he? He should've been constantly harrassing him to get him things and do things for him. He should've been expecting him to wait on him hand and foot. What was going on? Plus, he'd gone back to starving himself, without his supervision.

Shuichi shifted the weight at his shoulder as he set off to systematically search the campus. With solid determination in his steps, he headed for the basement, deciding to start at the bottom and work his way up. _Kokichi. I won't let you elude me now. I won't let you just disappear after...after everything. I...I care about you too much._

And...unbeknownst to him, at the back of the metal piece on the Kokoronpa Device...a tiny red light blinked on.

\---

Finally...finally, Shuichi found him on the very top floor, in front of his lab, in front of Rantaro's lab. He couldn't decipher what he'd been _doing_ there...it looked like he'd been just staring at the bloody, violent designs on Rantaro's lab door, perhaps trying to figure out what talent they could signify. But nevertheless, Shuichi was so relieved, so full of determination, that he immediately called out to him.

"Kokichi!"

The white-clothed boy whirled around, and his face was completely unreadable. He wasn't surprised or nervous or angry or anything...as he might've expected from someone who'd been trying to avoid him all day and had just been caught.

"Oh! _There_ you are, Shuichi." His playful smirk was back on in the next second, though, and he stretched his arms behind his head, as usual. "Have you been off training, so you'll become more useful to me? I hope so!"

Shuichi's mind suddenly went blank. He...honestly didn't know what to say? Should he give him the gift? But that would be weird, straight out of the blue like that. Should he confront him about avoiding him? Should he just shove some food at him? Kokichi's lack of surprise about the whole situation was throwing him off.

Kokichi lowered his arms and took a step closer, his eyes widening as they studied him. "Ooh, where'd you get that Cluebooth headset? Are you jealous of Kiibo or something? Or are you starting to show your true colors as an alien life-form? I knew it!"

"Uh...no... I...I've been looking for you." The awkwardness in his voice was painful even for him to listen to.

"No, duh! As my newest subordinate, you should be lining up to serve me at every possible moment! So where have you been?!"

He had on a ticked-off expression, but Shuichi had a well-grounded suspicion that it was fake. Why else would he have left breakfast so early, why else wouldn't he have bumped into him five times since then? There were certainly plenty of moments when he couldn't tell if Kokichi was lying or not...but right now, he felt completely confident in his assessment. And just then...

Suddenly, there was a weird little _swoosh_ noise in his right ear, and with a jolt, he realized that it must have come from the Kokoronpa Device.

_What was that? Does that mean it's activating? What is it doing? And why now?!_ It had just sounded like air, like a car passing by an open window...but what was the significance, the purpose?!

The shock must have been obvious on his face, because Kokichi started tittering with amusement. "Nyeehee! What's wrong? Are you receiving a call from the alien mothership? Do you have to go home to your people now, Shuichi? I'd say that I'll miss you, but that would be a lie..."

And...just as suddenly, there was a _voice_ speaking through the earpiece. A very, very familiar voice. Not Monokuma's voice or the voice of one of the Monokubs...that would have made sense, that wouldn't have set Shuichi's mind reeling in confusion and disorientation. No, this was... _Kokichi's_ voice.

Kokichi's mouth was closed now, softly snickering behind his teeth. But the voice spoke clearly through the tiny speaker in his ear, unmistakably his. _"I don't want to do this, I really don't... But, c'mon, I can't keep avoiding this all day. I already decided--I can't run away from it now."_

Shuichi stood, frozen in place. What was this? Some sort of recording of Kokichi from earlier? Could it be possible that Monokuma or the Mastermind or someone was using a voice-changer? But why would they? To try to encourage their "romance"? He knew what his knee-jerk reaction had been--what he'd immediately assumed it was. But that was impossible. Even with advanced technology, no one could actually... It defied all logic, it defied all common sense. And yet...he wished it were true, he _wanted_ it to be true, to be possible. _Was_ it...actually...really...?

Shuichi decided he had to perform a little test. There would be no way to be sure it wasn't whoever was watching them, of course, but...there was something he could rule out, at least.

His hand trembled a bit, but he carefully reached out... Kokichi's eyes crossed as his finger moved closer and closer to his face...and then, he lightly pressed his nose, like some sort of rubbery, fleshy button.

"...Pff." Kokichi bit back a laugh, then sneered at him. "What's this? Have you developed a nose fetish too, you creepazoid?"

And...the voice--the Kokichi voice in his ear--also spoke up, the sentences running a bit faster, a bit more frantic. _"Okay, what the hell was that?! He touched my nose. But why?! Nothing ever happened with my nose. Something's up with that headset thing, I know it. It better not be brainwashing him--and just when we were finally getting somewhere!"_

Shuichi's breath was being snatched from his throat. Desperately, he tried to hold onto it, try not to look as flustered and conflicted as he felt...but it was almost painful. Was this...really...?! Okay, so it definitely wasn't a recording...that would have to be a scary coincidence. It could still be the Mastermind, purposefully creating this effect, but... The intonation, the speed, the cadence...it matched Kokichi's so exactly, so perfectly...

_Am I...? Does this thing...? Is it... I...think it is. I'm afraid to admit it, because it's so unbelievable, but...I think it is. It's...reading Kokichi's thoughts._ If it really, truly was, this was the most incredible gift he'd ever received! Shuichi had always, always wanted to be able to hear Kokichi's inner voice. He'd be able to tell when he was lying, what his true intentions were, what he was really feeling, deep inside.

Shuichi felt his heartbeat quicken with excited anticipation. _I can't let him know, though! If he figures it out, he'll force it off of me. And I can't...! I have to take this chance!_

"Uh...sorry, I just...thought I saw something on your face." Shuichi desperately wanted to know what he'd meant by "just when we were finally getting somewhere"...but he had to force himself not to acknowledge the words that came through the Kokoronpa Device. Ignore them...but file them away in his memory at the same time.

"Uh, yeah? That's called a nose, Shuichi. Did you forget basic human anatomy? Oh, that's right, it's cause you're not actually human, are you?"

_"This better not mess things up. I have to do it. Maybe I should wait a little longer...? But I'm just going to keep putting it off, I know I will..."_

_Do_ what _?! Whatever it is, it's okay! Just do it!_ Shuichi wanted to answer so badly, but he bit back his tongue. He had to act as naturally as possible...Kokichi was already suspicious and worried that something was mentally off about him.

"Sorry... It's just...I haven't seen you all day, since breakfast. Maybe I'm wrong here, but...it feels like you've been avoiding me on purpose."

"Ah, perceptive as always, hmm?" Kokichi formed one of his signature smirks, lifting a finger to his mouth in a secretive "shush". "Don't worry. I've only been plotting how best to kill one of the others and make it out of this place. Monokuma did cancel the killing game, but I bet if I started killing, he'd be so pleased, he'd let me go. But since you know about it now, Shuichi, as my underling, you're obligated to be my accomplice."

_"But it could ruin everything! You shouldn't do something so risky! So selfish, even! Just because you want to, because you don't want to be alone... It's selfish to just risk that... But it's kinda selfish to just keep everything to myself, too. If he remembers too early, it'll all be ruined anyway. So what does it matter? What do I have to lose? Oh, well, maybe everything..."_

He was...yelling at himself? He was terribly conflicted about whatever this was, and it was causing him distress. For just an instant, a shout built up in Shuichi's chest...but he didn't let it fly. It didn't feel...right. Not yet. He didn't know why--he couldn't tell how he knew. But he knew it wasn't the right time.

"No." He chose his words carefully, trying to let him know, without actually letting him know. Let him know it was okay... "I won't do that. But I do want to help you, Kokichi. As...as your underling and as your friend. I want to help."

He was expecting resistance... Cries of "that means you're defying my orders" or "who ever said we were friends?" But Kokichi only fixed him with a deep glare, narrow purple eyes angled up at him, a few fingers stroking through his hair, combing it behind his ear. The intent was unreadable...it seemed nervous, annoyed, threatening, afraid, and seething with anger all at the same time. But...but through the strange, miraculous piece of technology affixed to his head, Shuichi would be able to tell what was truly behind that face. And he could barely believe what he was hearing--the slightly frantic, barely discernible words that scrambled through the speaker. The breathtaking words of Kokichi's heart.

_"I want to tell him... I should let him in more... I want to tell him...everything. I want him to know. I need his memories, after all. I need him to remember. That's not all, but... But Shuichi... He keeps talking to me and spending time with me like this because he's trying to "figure me out". That's what's keeping him coming back... He loves the mystery, the uncertainty of it all. I'm intriguing to him because I'm not easily solved. Once that's gone... If I confide in him, if I tell him... I just won't be so interesting to him anymore. There won't be anything to keep him coming back. Well, aside from the feeding thing... I'm just a mystery to him, a puzzle for him to solve. That, and a receptacle for his kinky desires... Giving up my secrets would just make me boring..."_

"No, that's wrong!" The gathering energy and pressure inside Shuichi's chest finally shot from his lungs, from his vocal chords, like a bullet from the barrel of a gun.

The wide, shocked, confused pools of Kokichi's purple eyes snapped up, connecting with his vision again. For all he knew, he'd just had an outburst for no reason, but... Shuichi would have to give it up now, relinquish full control of the device...but it didn't even matter. This was so, so much more important.

"Kokichi..." Shuichi gathered his breath, feeling the earpiece slightly trembling, going silent in his ear. "I want you to know that... I _do_ want to know more about you, and I want to figure out your secrets...but I truly do...just enjoy being with you. I wouldn't...keep at it, if I didn't. You haven't exactly been very forthcoming. And when you do open up to me, I... It makes me so, so happy. If anything, "solving" you would make me even more interested in you. And really...with your level of unpredictability, I don't think it's even possible for me to get bored with you. The, uh...the other stuff is just an added bonus, I guess."

Openly talking about his kink was still too difficult for him to fathom. But the most important thing was getting him to realize, easing his worries... And not just because he wanted those secrets. He wanted those secrets...and he wanted Kokichi's friendship, too. He'd already realized it himself, he'd already made up his mind. He was interested in Kokichi for Kokichi.

"...Huh." Kokichi's response was calculated, siphoning out all the shock and confusion he'd undoubtedly felt from having his mind read. "You really want to know that badly, huh?"

_Does he think I'm just lying? Lying to make him feel better and give it up? Oh, man, he probably does..._ Anxious, Shuichi tapped at the outside of the Kokoronpa Device, waiting to hear, trying to kick-start it into telling him Kokichi's thoughts again. But it was dead, even its distant buzzing fading away... Was there some sort of rule that the person had to be unaware that their mind was being read, or it wouldn't work? No matter what it was, though...he wasn't going to be getting any more information out of it right now.

"...Okay, then." Kokichi took a suspicious step forward, tilting his head back to look into Shuichi's eyes with a mischievous, mysterious glint. "I'll let you in..."

Was this a joke? Was this just another deflecting lie? That's what it seemed like, yet...

And suddenly, all at once, Kokichi whirled to the side...and took off into a sprint.

Shuichi twisted to look as he whizzed past, his heart leaping into his throat. _A joke?! Just a prank?! To allow him to escape?!_

But suddenly, as he watched the small white form of Kokichi's back dashing past pillars and down the hall, he knew. Something clicked on in his mind, in his very soul, and he knew. He was beginning to understand, after connecting with Kokichi's mind. And he knew.

Shuichi's shoulder thrust forward, head ducking, fists lifting...and he broke into a run, pushing his legs forth, shoes tapping frantically over the smooth floor. A tiny, wry, unseen smile broke over his lips. He knew. Kokichi wanted him to follow. Kokichi wanted him to prove his determination. Show his resolve to chase him and never let him get away. To follow his lead and never look back with doubt. And he absolutely would. He would chase after him...until he could be there at his side, and never let him go. He was...too important to him now.

And that was why Shuichi continued to smile, even as his lungs began to burn, even as his legs began to throb. Stairs flashed by, stained wooden walls, metal beams, decorated doors, benches and greenery... Kokichi didn't look back or slow down for an instant, and that was probably the point. But Shuichi never let his distant, jogging form out of his sight, watching the bouncing of his hair as his legs pounded the floor.

When they reached the ground floor, they whooshed past a few of their classmates, and they called out in response. "Yeah!" Shuichi vaguely heard the voices, even through the front door, out into the courtyard. "Catch that cock-sucking weenie fucker!" "Get that little degenerate! Make him pay!" "You can do it, Shuichi!"

A breathless chuckle choked his throat, and he shook his head, though his body continued rushing forward with all its might. If only they knew. Oh, if only they knew... Of course, everyone would assume he was chasing Kokichi out of anger and frustration. They'd think he'd stolen something from him, or he'd just played some sort of heinous prank on him. The only reason Shuichi would ever chase Kokichi would be to trap him and punish him. Oh, how wrong they were, how wrong it all was.

Yet, despite the misunderstandings, he felt their encouragement empowering him, refilling his body with the breath he needed to go on. To keep chasing, keep reaching for this truth, this singular core, the tiny, buried heart of Kokichi's inner world. Though his body felt as if it might collapse, his soul felt like it was flying, his focus zeroed in on the fleeing white shape ahead of him. Cool, artificial wind met his face as he careened down the academy steps...then took a sharp turn after Kokichi, into the dormitory building.

Shuichi slammed past the entrance doors and practically tripped and stumbled forward up the stairs on the boys' side. But there, just before him...Kokichi had finally come to a halt, the fluffy mess of his dark-haired head still coldly turned. One pale hand rested squarely on the door of his own dorm room, and he stood perfectly straight, waiting...just waiting, as if he'd been standing there for hours.

Shuichi coughed and wheezed, his body crumpling inwards as he clutched his stomach, his chest, scrambling to recover from running so fast so suddenly. Maybe he should've been asking Kaito for jogging practice... Meanwhile, Kokichi was mysteriously silent, not even panting a bit. He had to be in better shape than he looked, even with his starved body.

"K...K-Ko... _hiihhhh_! Kichi..." Only when he pressed his hand to the railing and forced himself up straight did Shuichi notice the heaviness at his hip. God, that was right--he had the filled-up messenger bag on him too. He must've gripped it to hold it steady without even thinking, because he'd completely forgotten about it. No wonder he was so out of breath. "I'm...I'm here... _kfff_! I...made it." _I didn't leave you. I will continue to pursue you, no matter what. Did I...did I pass your test? Are you ready? Have I proven it to you enough?_

"So you did." Kokichi's static form didn't flinch. His voice was so flat, it was almost robotic.

Shuichi finally drew himself up all the way, moving close, so close to Kokichi's shoulder. His throat and lungs still burned, but he suppressed the urge to cough, focusing on this moment, on the image of that tiny, white hand resting on the smooth, gray barrier standing before the two of them. Just a dorm room door...yet, a physical manifestation of Kokichi's own shields, of the mental barrier sitting immovable between them. The Kokoronpa Device had mysteriously died, and the depths of his mind were once again unknowable. But even so, Shuichi had a feeling, a resolution inside of him. An assurance...that this barrier, or at least part of it...was about to come down. The metaphorical, literal door was about to open. And it was incredible.

"Okie-dokies." At last, Kokichi turned his head, revealing a smiling porcelain mask of a face through dark tendrils. "Prepare for disappointment." And just like that, his other hand shot out, unlocking the door...and pushing it open.

Kokichi slipped right inside...and of course, Shuichi followed directly behind. The other side...Kokichi's room...Kokichi's private world...was unfolding before him. And he almost immediately tripped. Kokichi himself waded further in, whirling around to observe his reactions. And Shuichi simply... _couldn't_.

He wasn't sure what he'd been expecting--something akin to the secret-agent, super-villain vibe of his lab, perhaps? In any case, Kokichi had been acting as if this was a huge deal. Like his room contained a library of the world's greatest government secrets and most classified files...as if just being here would reveal everything he ever wanted to know. Whatever he'd imagined, though--it certainly wasn't _this_.

The room looked like a hurricane had blown through it. Papers and binders and books were literally scattered all over the floor. Glass bottles and tipped-over plastic soda bottles littered the side table. A few balled-up mounds of dirty white uniforms were carelessly tossed into the crack beside the bed. There were piles of metallic junk and cardboard boxes, containing who knows what. And a giant whiteboard sat in front of the television, pictures of all their classmates taped onto it.

_How...?_ Shuichi immediately tried to imagine Kokichi lugging that big, long board up the stairs all by himself. _How did he get all this stuff?!_

The bookcases were practically overflowing with books and folders and sketchbooks--Shuichi thought he noticed his own two case files tucked away in there, too. How could he have any time to actually read any of this?! _...Oh, right_ , he realized, with a small sinking in his chest. _It's because he's barely been sleeping at all. He would've had all night to gather things while we were asleep. After all, only the dining hall, the gym, and the pool are off-limits at night._ It suddenly felt sickening, dizzying, looking at all these papers--the accumulation of Kokichi's lost time and sacrificed comfort.

"Welcome, welcome!" Kokichi chirped, fake-cheery as always. "Make yourself at home! Mi casa es su casa and all that!"

A small pool of papers flapped over the toes of Shuichi's dress shoes as he took a careful step towards him. And for the first time, he noticed, looking down at them...they were all _drawings_... Drawings in pen and pencil, drawings in crayon and marker. Some were stick figures, some were cartoonish faces, some were items and gadgets, some were even tiny comics and four-panel manga. It was...kind of fascinating and maybe...maybe just a tiny bit endearing. Had Kokichi really drawn all of these?

"Um...so, do you like to draw?" Shuichi asked. The question sounded stupid out loud, but he stuck by it anyway. The fact--or the perceived fact--that Kokichi enjoyed doodling like this in his spare time was just kind of adorable. He had to fight the urge to let the corners of his mouth curl up.

Kokichi set his hands on his hips, his eyes dark behind his bangs. "No." The tone was completely deadpan. No teasing lilt, no annoyed huff. It would be impossible to determine if it was a lie or not.

Based on the scattered doodles, it would be easy to assume that it was, but...it would just be _too_ easy. But if he _didn't_ , then why...? It didn't make any sense. It wouldn't make any sense. More puzzles...of course. If only the Kokoronpa Device were still active...

As Shuichi moved closer, he glanced quickly to the whiteboard...and he was even more perplexed. He only got a brief look, not enough to read what was written...but what he _had_ seen was still incomprehensible.

Most of the photos were grouped together...the Monokubs in a square in the right corner, and Maki, Kiibo, Himiko, Tsumugi, and Kaito in another rectangular arrangement above. But the groupings on the left side...it made no apparent sense. Shuichi's logical brain was immediately trying to work out the pattern, but...there just was none.

The first pair was Kaede and Rantaro. Were they...was Kokichi trying to say that they were a pair? He'd barely even seen Kaede talking to him. He supposed they might be good for each other, though...they were both pretty level-headed and down-to-earth people. Rantaro would take care of her...he'd be really happy for her if it were true. But it was still bizarre to think that Kokichi was pairing them off like this.

And the next pair...Kirumi and Ryoma?! That made no sense at all. Well, maybe Kirumi could eventually help Ryoma with his depression, but...they'd never shown any interest in each other at all. He couldn't even recall them talking to each other one-on-one at any time. Then there was a threesome--Angie, Tenko, and Korekiyo. Maybe Angie and Kiyo he could understand--they were both arts and humanities weirdos who believed in spirits and rituals and all that strange cultural stuff. But Tenko would absolutely want no part of that at all--especially since Kiyo was a "degenerate male" and Angie was constantly getting in her way of pursuing Himiko.

His own picture was way up in the right-hand corner, for some reason, disconnected from anyone else. And the final two...though their faces had been crossed out, they had to be Miu and Gonta. Aside from Kokichi himself, they were the only ones left. Why were they together, and why were they crossed out, though? Maybe...they were Kokichi's least favorite people? That was possible, he guessed. But, then, why had he been talking to Miu alone earlier today? It could have been just to talk down to her, but...she kind of liked that, after all. The worst thing you could do to Miu was ignore her. And of course...he really wanted to read what was written under his own portrait. But he didn't get the chance.

"So, after our little slumber party before, I thought I'd return the favor!" Kokichi chirped as Shuichi drew close to him again. "That's totally a lie, though. I know you wanna shove something in my pie-hole cause I haven't eaten anything yet today. Is that what that bag's for? I bet it is. Gross... I'll let you serve me, though... But first..."

Kokichi leered up at him, the edges of his eyes darkening and pinching inward. "Let's get that cheating little mind-reader machine off of you, hmm?"

"Sure." Without so much as a beat of hesitation, Shuichi reached up and jiggled the earpiece out, holding it silently in his open palm. "You can take it. It's...not working anymore anyway."

Kokichi's face squeezed in just a little bit tighter. "Shuichi...it's really, really horrible of you to start lying now, when I'm being so uncharacteristically honest with you. I can't believe you. I thought you were at least a little less morally corrupt."

"Um..." Shuichi let the words nip at his ankles instead of biting at his heart, like he knew they were trying to. "That's...a lie, right?"

"...Oooh, you're getting so good, Shuichi!" Kokichi's face shattered into his usual grin. "Too good, maybe. I just might have to dispose of you soon."

Without another word, he snatched the device and held it up into the light between his thumb and forefinger. "So _this_ was Monokuma's special prize, huh? I was expecting something a little more sinister. Man..."

_How did...?_ Shuichi immediately halted that thought. It was probably safe to just assume Kokichi knew everything. _If he knows that much, does that mean he saw the...ranking?_ A flutter ran through his chest at that idea. It didn't mean anything, though. It was just the stupid opinions and perceptions of their viewership. Was...that what Kokichi thought, too, though? _It's stupid--don't even think about it anymore._

"I wonder how it works...?" Kokichi squinted at the device, examining it with every bit of his concentration. "Not that I care--only Saggytits McGee would be interested in stuff like that."

_Uh, there's no need to insult her when she's not even around..._

Evidently, Kokichi must have found something of interest, though, because his lips pressed into a thin line and his brows dug further inward. "Shuichi." His tone was icy cold again. "You're an utter waste of air."

_What now?! He's angry?! Is he really angry?! And how come...?!_ Shuichi couldn't help letting the anxiety quiver into him. This could very well be another bait-and-switch, but it still sort of bothered him. "I...beg your pardon?"

"Did you forget how to read?" Kokichi thrust the device back at him, and he stumbled to catch it in his fingers. "Look on the inside of the clip."

_He noticed something about it that I didn't?_ Well...it was at least nice of him to point it out.

Shuichi brought the ear-clip closer to his face and squinted at it. Indeed, there were some tiny, tiny words etched into the plastic: "Single use only". _Oh..._ Well, that would explain why it wasn't working anymore.

"You could only use it once," Kokichi dryly spoke once Shuichi had noticed it. "You could only use it once, and you chose to just _waste_ it like that."

"It wasn't a waste!" The word were out of Shuichi's mouth before he realized. "I'm...really glad I got to know your true feelings. I know you never would have told me otherwise."

"Idiot!" Kokichi's teeth gnashed in frustration and he bit down on his thumbnail just to reel himself back. "Don't you realize how _important_ something like that was?! We could've used that to find the Mastermind!"

Wow...that thought hadn't even crossed Shuichi's mind. For an instant, he was kind of impressed. For someone who claimed to be so focused on finding a way out of here, such a thing should have been his first thought. Was he getting too side-tracked? Had his own resolve been just a lie to himself? And was Kokichi even more...?

"Ah, I don't think that would have worked, though," Shuichi admitted, the more he thought about it. "I wasn't in control of when it turned on. It just sort of...clicked on all of a sudden for a short while, and then went dead. It's possible the Mastermind themself had control over its activation, so they would've never allowed it to read their own mind. In fact, that's the most likely explanation."

"Damn." Kokichi balled his hand into a fist, but his tensed expression began to ease. "That makes sense. And there's no power button anywhere on that thing." Then, taking a hairpin turn, he was back to his smiley self again. "Guess you're not completely useless! I knew I was right to recruit you! ...That's a lie, though--I'm just going to use you as a meat shield."

Shuichi let his breath seep out. Well, that was that, he supposed.

Kokichi just tossed the expended Kokoronpa Device into the far corner of the room, and it bounced off the edge of the side table before landing amidst some other junk on the floor. "So then!" He clapped his hands as if clearing them of chalk dust. "What did you bring me, huh?"

With a wry smile, Shuichi thought of how funny it was, but also how accurate it was that he would assume he'd brought something for him. "Just a bunch of snack food and sodas... Oh, and a game..."

"Ooh, yay! I'm so excited!"

"Is that a lie?"

"Maybe! But maybe not!" Sweeping down, Kokichi cleared an area on the floor by raking the loose papers into a pile underneath the whiteboard, and then plopped down, beckoning for Shuichi to join him.

_I guess sitting in actual chairs is out of the question._

Nevertheless, there was a joyful feeling of contentment in his heart as he folded his legs beneath him and handed the bag to Kokichi, watching him dig into it. There was no solid proof, but...this really did feel like a friendship now. A real connection had formed here...and he was so glad.

The feeling only escalated when Kokichi selected a packet of mini muffins and a bag of chips, prying them open and chomping a whole mini-muffin down in a matter of seconds. He really must have been hungry. Of course, he had to look over and give Shuichi a fabricated sultry gaze as he crunched into a handful of chips, and he stubbornly bit back the blush threatening to crawl up his cheeks again.

"Sheeeee?" Kokichi gulped down his mouthful and grinned. "That's why I didn't eat anything by myself today--I was waiting for _you_ to come and feed me!"

"That had better be a lie"

"Nuh-uh! It's cause I've totally fallen for you! See what you did? Now I can't even eat without you next to me." Just like that, Kokichi had already finished the first little chip bag, and he was fishing for another. "Does that sound like a lie? Hmmm? I bet you wish it's true, though..."

"I don't know why you stopped eating again this morning," Shuichi declared, "But as long as you're eating now, I don't need to know the reason."

"Liiiiar. You definitely wanna know." _Crunch crnch rrnch_. "Buh I'm nah tellin'!"

For a quiet moment, Shuichi closed his eyes, just listening to the sounds of Kokichi's consumption. Four of the little snack bags were empty by the time Kokichi broke the silence again.

"Hey, y'know, I've gained three pounds already. I bet you're thrilled about that."

"Really?" Shuichi's eyes popped open, scanning over Kokichi's body. He couldn't see any difference, but...it was only three pounds. It could all be internal, anyway...muscles and organs beginning to repair themselves after their mistreatment. Thank God, thank Atua, thank whatever mysterious powers existed in this world. _How did he know that, though? If it's true, that is... Is there...?_

Now that he was actively looking for it, Shuichi's gaze zeroed in on the thin metallic object sticking out from below one of the mounds of papers. He'd brought the scale from the warehouse back with him. Was he...actually monitoring his own weight? Why would he want to? If it wasn't actually anorexia...?

"Well...yeah." Shuichi spoke up, assuredly. He noticed Kokichi reach for another bag of mini-muffins, but quickly shoved a fruit cup into his hand instead. He couldn't have him eating only the junk food and leaving all the fruits and veggies. He just snickered at him and peeled it open in compliance. "And not because it, um, turns me on or anything--because you're not dying of starvation."

"Nyeeheehee, your denial is delicious." Kokichi slurped into the fruit cup without even using a fork, as if to punctuate that statement. "Hmmmmm...I thought you weren't going to do that anymore..."

"I...!" Shuichi immediately opened his mouth to refute it again, but...something held him back. A realization that softly caressed the edges of his heart. _Kokichi...wants me to stop lying to myself. To stop denying and ignoring what I feel... That's...that's what he's trying to say. I know it._ That was so...sweet.

He gently shook his head, falling into a resigned smile. "I do derive pleasure from seeing you eat and feeding you, but...I truly care about your health most of all. If I didn't--if I just wanted to see you fatten up, I would've just let you keep eating the junk food." As always, he had to back up his claims with prime examples and hard evidence for Kokichi to believe it. But this was the perfect circumstantial example.

Kokichi frowned a bit, through a cheek stuffed with apple chunks. But when he swallowed, his cheeky grin was back in place. "Yup, mm-hmm, that's some juicy denial right there."

Despite his front, Shuichi silently prayed...that his sincere care and concern had reached him.

Kokichi set the fruit cup aside for a moment and pulled out the game board, flipping it over and reading it. "Ooooh, I know this game. It's not too boring. You've got surprisingly good taste, Shuichi. And that's not a lie. Well, at least not the first part."

"Eheh..." _I'm pretty used to this by now._ "Do you want to play it together? I wouldn't mind..."

"Nah, it's no fun with just two people. You need at least four. ...Oh! I know!" Kokichi took on an excited, but slightly sinister-looking expression. "I could force Kiibo to do it with us! Or, better yet, let's get Kaito! He's really easy to fool! I would totally decimate him!"

"Uh...maybe not right now." Odd...when it came to people Kokichi would deem "easy to fool", Gonta would have been at the top of the list, yet he hadn't mentioned him at all. Did he really dislike him that much? It was still a heartwarming thought, though...playing a board game together with Kokichi, Kiibo, and Kaito... He hoped that one day, they'd get a chance.

After the fruit cup, Kokici declared that he was full, teased Shuichi about not "over-filling" him, and then proclaimed, in a strangely loud voice, that he was going to the bathroom to "take a good, long, satisfying dump."

_Does he think I have some kind of pooping fetish too?_ Shuichi thought, with distaste in his mouth. _Just because it's related to digestion doesn't mean I automatically think it's hot._

The bathroom door clacked closed, and everything was suddenly plunged into silence. Without Kokichi's chattering voice, the room suddenly felt distressingly empty...and that was when Shuichi realized that...he was _alone_ in here. Alone... _alone_...

An awful, insidious thought invaded Shuichi's brain. _This is my chance! The opportunity to look around and find out if there's any crucial information he's hiding in here! The answers are probably right here!_

But he immediately felt dreadfully guilty. Kokichi had opened so much to him...and to just take advantage of his fragile, conditional trust to violate his privacy like that...it was utterly despicable of him, and he hated the fact that it had even crossed his mind. But...but perhaps...

Shuichi replayed their last interaction in his memory--Kokichi's tone, his sweeping body language... It was too _obvious_. Maybe...as strange and backwards as it seemed...that was what he _wanted_. He'd made such a show of going to the bathroom, implying that he'd be there for a while. This was...exactly what he wanted, wasn't it? He _wanted_ Shuichi to poke around. He'd invited him here, after all...he'd acted as if it was a big reveal. Kokichi's thoughts...he'd wanted to reveal more of himself, though he was struggling to justify it.

No. Shuichi had already decided, and he was already moving towards the whiteboard. He was going to learn more. And he felt certain that this was his invitation to do so.

Halting right before it, Shuichi could easily make out everything on the board now. Kiibo was labeled as "weird", the Monokubs were "annoying" and Maki "dangerous". Well, that sort of made sense. In the middle of the board, Kokichi had doodled what appeared to be a self-portrait, flashing a peace sign and sticking out his tongue. It was adorably juvenile, but...maybe it was supposed to distract from something. Kokichi's own photograph wasn't here, after all. And finally...in the corner...

A shock of warmth pressed into Shuichi's chest when he read it, stopping his breath for just an instant. Because there, underneath his own photograph was the word, the label, the distinction... "Trustworthy." Not just potentially or conditionally. Fully, actually, solidly...trustworthy.

As if trying to confirm the reality of the word, Shuichi reached out, pressing a finger to the smooth, shiny surface of the board, right below those monumental smudges of black. _Trustworthy._

A smile spread over his face before he knew it, a smile pressing back the flood of emotion behind his eyes. He had to turn away, sliding his eyelids shut, curling his hand into a fist at the base of his neck. _Trustworthy._ Kokichi had decided to let him in...Kokichi had decided to trust him...decided that he'd _earned_ this trust. Kokichi, who never trusted anyone, even to his own detriment. It was too much of an honor. It was too much. But it explained why he was here right now. Why he'd been granted the special privilege of viewing these private spaces. He'd decided to trust Kokichi, too, the moment he'd taken his hand, to join him in whatever this phantasmagoric existence had in store. And he'd continue to make that decision...to keep on taking his hand, shattering the crawling doubts of his blood-scented lies. Now and again, no matter what it took.

_Kokichi...Kokichi, thank you. Thank you so much._ This trust...this incredible, elusive trust...he was going to treasure it. This invitation, this open door...he was oh so grateful. And he prayed that one day, he'd get to show just how truly thankful he was.

A soft shuffling noise from behind the bathroom door jolted Shuichi back into the moment. There were probably only a few minutes left, so he had to act quickly if he wanted to take a look at anything else.

Quickly, he snatched the first paper he could find that wasn't filled with boyish doodles. It was some sort of list, and the list's contents were kind of...disconcerting. "1. Beware of Paralysis, 2. Beware of Separation, 3. Beware of Touch, 4. Beware of Emotional Attachment, 5. Beware of Retaliation".

Were these...self-reminders of some kind? It stung to think that Kokichi was looking out, trying to avoid such things as "touch" and "emotional attachment". But _why_? Why were these all bad things, things to be careful of? There wasn't enough time to ruminate and speculate on it.

Shuichi snatched a manila folder from on top of the table and flipped it open. There were several papers in here, and they appeared to be some sort of...form? When and how had Kokichi been able to type up a form and print out copies like this? Maybe there was a laptop and a printer in here somewhere that he just hadn't yet uncovered. But in any case...

There were exactly fifteen of these forms...one for each of the Ultimates, excluding Kokichi himself. Each student was ranked from one to five on an "awareness ratio" scale, and there were several other aspects for which either "pass" or "fail" was checked off. God, he wanted to read all of them, but he had to hurry, so he just pulled out his own, and scanned quickly through the others. Most of them were "fail" straight down the board, though there were a few stand-outs.

Kaede had passed "determination", but nothing else. Rantaro had passed "reasoning" and "determination", but also nothing else. Korekiyo had the highest "awareness ratio" of three, but had failed all the checklist items. Kiibo had nothing but a giant question mark scrawled across his form, and the written comment, "it's a talking machine!!" Now...

Shuichi sucked in his breath and took a look at his own form. _Wow..._

Immediately, he stood out as having an "awareness ratio" of four. And everything... _everything_ was "pass".

_This is like...Kokichi was testing all of us for something. And...I was the one he selected in the end._ The one he'd selected to trust, the one he'd selected to be his partner, his "underling"... Apparently, he'd passed with flying colors.

"Determination--pass, reasoning--pass, flexibility--pass, non-violent--pass, doesn't panic about the death threat--pass..."

_Really? I think I panic a great deal..._

"Reads between the lines--pass, asks the right questions--pass, doesn't self-lie like a dirty self-liar--pass..." Though that one stipulation had been checked "fail", but later erased...

_He's getting me to stop being a "dirty self-liar"_ , Shuichi thought, with an internal chuckle.

And then, the last item...he couldn't figure out what it meant. The typed phrase was "survives level 3", but the "3" had been crossed out and replaced with "4" with the scrawled comment "whoopsie-daisy!" beside it. Yet, it was still marked "pass" in the end.

_What's "level 3"? And why is it 4 for just me? Oh, well, at least I apparently survived it, whatever it is._

"Oh my _God_ , Shuichi! How _dare_ you snoop through my private belongings like that!"

_Ah!!_ Reflexively, Shuichi tossed the folder back onto the table, his heart reeling from the jolt. How...?! He hadn't even heard Kokichi open the bathroom door! But...he'd probably opened it as silently as possible just for that reason.

"And I thought I could trust you! I thought we were friends! How _could_ you?!" Kokichi was staring up at him, teardrops pressing at the edges of his eyes, clutching his hands before him in the most pathetic and subjugating way that it just had to be fake. "You're so terrible! Aaaaaaah-hwaaaa!"

Shuichi could only sigh, as his heart eased back into a normal pace. "You expected this, didn't you?"

"Ah, yup!" Kokichi's teary face was wiped clean, and he hopped back in place. "Cause you're a nosy little detective who can never mind his own business! Of course you'd just "investigate" my room without asking! But, that's okay! After all, I've got nothing to hide! You already know how I'm the leader of the world's most powerful shadowy organization after all!"

Shuichi squeezed a fist, staunchly refusing to let him deflect the issue once again. It was no use trying to hide it or hand-wave it away--he knew what he'd seen, so he might as well discuss it. "You were testing all of us. For what, I don't know, but...it seems like I received the best marks."

"You sure did!" Kokichi plopped down on the arm of the chair, crossing his legs. The chair itself was too full of junk to actually sit in. "I was deciding who to elect as my subordinate. And yoooooou were the lucky winner! Congratulations."

So...that confirmed it. He'd been deciding who to trust...to whom to grant his allegiance. And in the end, it came down to Shuichi alone. That was...that was so wonderful. Shuichi battled the urge to break into an over-emotional smile. "Thank you." At last, he managed to say it, whether Kokichi would believe it or appreciate it. He had to find some way to express it, the only method within reach a weak arrangement of tiny words. But it was there.

"Nyeehee! Don't thank me yet! Wait until I ask you to sacrifice your life in my service."

_Probably another hollow threat. Probably...?_

"But, um..." Shuichi continued, looking down into the Supreme Leader's smug little face. "What's 'level 3' and 'level 4'? What does that refer to...?"

"Oh! You mean... _this_?"

" _H-aaaaaaaaaugh_!!!" Poor Shuichi just barely caught himself before he literally toppled backwards, desperately clawing at the air for balance. With that one word, Kokichi's face again transformed, that dark, bulged-eye, cracked wide smile from last night, a nightmarish visage you might find at the bottom of a well in a horror film.

" _Pfffahahahahahahahaha_! Ee-heeheeheeheehee!! _Ahh_ -hahahahahahaha!! _Kkgg_! Heeheeheehee!"

The demonic Kokichi popped back out of existence just as suddenly as he'd appeared, replaced by a Kokichi doubled over in uproarious laughter, arms clenching over his waist. His thin body shuddered with giggles and outright belly-laughs, punctuated by an occasional tiny snorting noise that was kind of oddly cute. Despite the residual pounding of his heart, Shuichi found a sliver of a smile returning to him.

"Oh-hoh gosh... Oh man... _Eeheehee_! Your face... Your f-ahahace..."

" _My_ face?!" Shuichi responded, the end of his voice trailing upwards in pitch. "What's wrong with _your_ face?!"

" _Ahahahahahahaha_!" That set Kokichi off again, and he nearly fell from the armrest. There was even a hint of water bubbling up below his right eyelid.

Wow...he'd never, ever laughed this hard before...and despite the fear response still coursing through his body, Shuichi fondly wondered if this might just be a completely genuine, heartfelt laugh from him.

"Eheh..." A tiny chuckle escaped from him as well. Because the gladness, the security, the joy of knowing he'd been selected, that he'd been granted this trust... It was more powerful than any terrifying intimidation technique he might throw at him. This friendship, this partnership, this bond...it was never going to fade now. He was much, much more than satisfied with that.

\---

The so-called "sleepover" continued with Kokichi dragging Shuichi back onto the floor with him and producing a multitude of crayons, markers, pencils, and oil pastels for them to draw with, along with an impressive stack of papers. Shuichi commented that he'd finally discovered who had been swiping all of Angie's art supplies, for which Kokichi sarcastically congratulated him on cracking the case. It was...weird, to just sit like this and doodle with someone the rest of his class had deemed "dangerous" and "suspicious". But by now, it wasn't all that surprising to him. So, could he take this to mean that Kokichi really _did_ like to draw, or...?

While they scratched pictures on their papers, Shuichi nudged one of the carrot stick packages towards Kokichi, urging him to eat some. He only crunched through a couple, but ate up a whole packet of crackers, so perhaps he just didn't like carrots. He also downed two whole mini-bottles of soda, which was very much expected.

"Voila!" Kokichi sat up and flapped his finished drawing in Shuichi's direction, though his body pulsed with what might have been a suppressed burp. All that soda would certainly have that impact. "All done! Now show me yours!"

There were actually several doodles on the paper--different cartoonish characters in various colors, filled in with pastels, and a few random items--something that looked like a potion, a cat/dog mascot of some sort, and a stop sign with a warning on it.

"Um...cool?"

"You have no idea what you're even looking at, do you?"

"To be honest, then...no."

"Good Lord, what's your IQ again?" Kokichi tapped at the various characters. "That's me...that's you...that's Kaede...that's Kirumi...and that's Kiibo!"

"Why am I a wizard?"

"Cause you're the mage, duh! I wouldn't give Himiko the satisfaction of actually being the mage. Kaede's the support, but she kinda sucks at it, Kirumi's our healer, Kiibo is a gunner, cause we forced him to go to Miu's upgrade shop and made him actually useful for once... And I'm the thief, of course! I've got a 100% steal success rate!"

_So we're game characters?_ Shuichi wasn't terribly familiar with those terms, but he knew they related to character roles in certain video games.

"Well...here's mine." Shuichi uncovered what he'd been working on--a landscape of the darkened piano room he'd seen in his vision this morning. It was hard to capture, and he had no skill when it came to things like perspective and lighting, so it looked really awkward and off-kilter. But it was on his mind, and he couldn't let it go until he expressed it in some way.

"Wow, you're even worse than I expected."

"Heh...well, I'm a detective, not an artist."

"Is that a crime scene, then?"

"No! It's just...Kaede's piano lab."

"Aww, that's boring. You should've at least made it a crime scene. Just picture someone's head all crushed inside the piano with blood oozing out of it and everything. Now _that_ would've been art!"

_Ah--!_ The words "crushed" and "piano" set off some sort of reflex in Shuichi's brain, and it almost made him gag. Why was that...so vivid and terrible? Just the thought of a piano crushing somebody...with...with spikes...spikes on the inside of its cover...blood...

" _Hgg_!" The imagery...the picture that flashed through his mind for just an instant...it was so realistic...too, too realistic. Bile surged to the back of his throat, and he choked, stuffing it back down just in time. _Why...? Why do I_ know _something...like that? Why is that so..._ familiar _?_

"Nyeeheehee! Can't stomach it? What kind of shitty detective is squeamish about blood?"

"No..." Shuichi scrambled to get himself under control again. Now was the perfect chance. He had to talk about it...but he had to be at least somewhat stable. Goring his gaze into the pattern of Kokichi's bandanna, he steeled his psyche and spoke, a gravity to every pointed word.

"Kokichi. You know something about all of this, don't you? You know what's happening to me."

"Hmm? Oh, that you're having a hard time accepting your gross job and your gross kinks? Of course I know..."

"No." Shuichi wouldn't allow him any leverage. "I mean these visions. How I keep seeing things that aren't there, remembering things that never happened. You know why these terrifying things are happening to me now, but you refuse to tell me."

At last, Kokichi's face dropped the innocent facade, steeping in a shadowy, yet unknowable, blankness. "...What makes you think I do?"

"Your reaction. Whenever this happens. It's almost like you're trying to _make_ it happen."

"Oh. So sorry if I make you have little mental breakdowns." He didn't look sorry in the least. "It's just part of who I am. I love to watch you suffer. I can't help it."

"You know everything. But you're just dangling it over me like meat before a starving dog. And _that's_ how you're making me suffer."

"Really?" Kokichi completely set his drawing aside, and his narrowed eyes flashed from between his sharp bangs. "You want me to tell you everything? Is that what you want? You want me to explain everything to you in detail? And take away all the fun of discovering it for yourself?"

"...So. You admit that you know everything about this?"

"Maybe I do. Or maybe I only know a little bit. Who knows? But I can tell you this..."

The frigid air on Kokichi's lips almost made Shuichi shudder. But he wouldn't back down. Not now, now that he knew he was trusted, now that so many barriers were shattering, now that the topic had blasted open.

Kokichi lowered his head, those dark purple irises shifting up at him beside the white contrast of his face. The line of his mouth pinched upward, a thin, tight little smirk. "...If I _did_ tell you the truth...if I told you everything...would you even believe me?"

There it was. The crux of this whole situation. It all came down to believing--or not believing--a self-admitted compulsive liar. A supposed evil overlord, a small demon who reveled in pestering and tormenting his peers.

That hand was again extended, surrounded by a miasma of cloudy darkness, wisping with sinister energy. He'd decided. He'd already decided to leap into this chasm. No matter what might be waiting at the bottom, at the very heart of the earth.

"...Yes. Yes, I would."

" _Reeaaaaallly_?" Kokichi's slithering voice prodded his eardrums. "I could tell you anything, you know. What if I told you that we're actually ghosts--that we don't actually exist, or we'd already died? What if I told you that this whole world was nothing but a giant computer program? That all of your senses, your thoughts, were being regulated by a virtual reality system? What if I told you that I came from the future to warn you of what will occur unless you take action? Or what if I said that we're the last survivors of the entire human race, thrust aboard an academy-sized spaceship, hurling through the universe at this very moment? Would you really believe _anything_?"

All of that sounded completely ridiculous, completely implausible. But...if he wanted Kokichi to keep believing in him...he had to return that belief, no matter how impractical and nonsensical it seemed.

"...Yes," Shuichi decided. Grasping that hand, through the tendrils of encroaching darkness. "Yes. If you decided to confide in me...I would listen. I would believe you. Even if it turned out that you were only deceiving me...it's my duty to take it seriously. Because I want to trust you. And if I don't trust you, how will you ever trust me?"

"...You're just as foolhardy as your space-dust-headed pal, then. A detective shouldn't be so blindly trusting."

"It's my job to be coolly logical, not to let emotions influence my deductions. That's what you think, right?" From deep inside him, Shuichi was drawing forth a strength he hadn't even known he'd had. But it was there--a faith, a belief from somewhere beyond. His hands clenched over his knees and he lifted his head, fully looking into Kokichi's ghostly face.

"But it's not just the visions--I have something else, too. There are these feelings--deep inside my soul somewhere. That I just _know_. They haven't been wrong yet. And they're telling me...to trust you."

"Tch." Kokichi snarled. "Putting that much stock in a nebulous _feeling_...perhaps I was wrong about you. But then again...perhaps not." He snickered. "Perhaps I'm just lying about all of this. Nyeehee! I lie so much that sometimes even I can't tell the difference!"

_That's definitely not healthy._

Kokichi was innocently grinning and obviously trying to disperse the tense atmosphere, so Shuichi decided to let it lie. Hopefully...he'd shown him just a bit more, proved again that he wouldn't back down, that he'd follow and chase after him until the end.

_Please...someday, I hope you tell me, Kokichi. And soon. I promise I will listen. When you open your heart, I will never brush it off as a lie... I want to know...I want to know everything you know. So...you're not all alone with that knowledge..._

"There's one thing I do want to tell you, though!" Kokichi scooted closer, until their folded knees were almost touching. "I'll let you in on this one little secret..."

He brushed the shivering tip of his index over the skin of his lips, tipped into another elusive smirk. "Did you know? Someone in our happy little friend group...is actually a serial killer."

Shuichi slowly blinked, processing these words. "...We already know about Maki."

"No, not Maki. A _serial killer_ , not an assassin."

"Everyone knows that Ryoma--"

"Not _Ryoma_. Someone who's killed...who kills just for their own twisted personal agenda. Someone who's claimed over eighty victims, and hasn't yet been caught. And they're going to kill again--it's only a matter of time."

It...it sounded like a lie, of course it did. Shuichi couldn't imagine anyone in their group being that horrific, being capable of such unthinkable evil. But at the same time... "I... That has to be a lie...right?"

"Hmmm, I dunno..." Kokichi slid back, eyeing the edges of Shuichi's face. "But now that I've told you...can you really afford to dismiss it?"

That was true...if there really was such a person among them, they definitely couldn't afford to ignore the possibility. If Kokichi knew who it was, he at least might attempt to stop the murder, but...would he be able to do it alone?

Shuichi slowly nodded, filing this information away and indicating his consent. _No. No, I won't dismiss it. Even if he's only trying to create suspicion... I'm glad he told me._

"Welp!" Kokichi light-heartedly beamed...and plopped his drawing straight onto Shuichi's lap. "You can keep this as a little souvenir. But before we escape from here, I'm definitely taking it back. Anything penned by my illustrious hands is worth upwards of one hundred million dollars, you see. And you definitely don't deserve that much."

Shuichi silently took a look at the doodle again. It was kind of cute, really--the small, large-headed versions of himself and the others, wearing fantasy-type clothes and carrying swords and staves. And now that he was looking closely, the sign in the corner had some sort of item inside of a big strike-through circle. It almost looked like a flashlight.

"No flashlights allowed"? What a weird sign... _No flashlights...Flash...lights..._ There was something there too, in those words, in that message, and again, Shuichi found himself wondering if Kokichi was trying to tell him something with this. _I don't know why, but...I'll keep that in mind. No flashlights._

He carefully tucked the drawing into his bag and pulled out the last of the snacks, cracking open a package of crackers for himself. Kokichi grabbed a handful of crayons and began another doodle, along with another bottle of grape soda. How could manage to drink all of that when it wasn't even cold? The sticky, warm sugary liquid seemed like it would be utterly disgusting, but Kokichi gulped it down like fresh spring water on a hot day. Oh, well, at least he was enjoying it.

He finished up another drawing of what appeared to be some sort of cake-launching machine and tossed the third empty bottle with the others. " _Hmmp_!" There was another strangled belch...and Kokichi broke into a toothy grin, flashing Shuichi his best taunting smirk. "Hmmmm, I might've had too much... It's reaaaallly going to town in there..." He ran a hand over his stomach, snagging briefly on those troublesome coat buttons. "It's all like _grrbl bubble sllsssh_..."

He was very obviously trying to provoke Shuichi's kink attraction...and it was unfortunately beginning to work already. Just the thought of so much soda sloshing inside of him... Shuichi screwed his eyes shut and pressed back the encroaching blush. Dammit, why was that appealing?

"You wanna feel it, doooon't you?" Kokichi continued, in his lilting, teasing voice. "You wanna feel all these bubbles going _fizz fizz_ in my tummy, huuuuhh, you fucking weirdo?"

"Just...stop." Shuichi wasn't in the mood to deal with this stuff right now, so he set a hard edge to his voice, hoping to convey just how unwilling he was to play this game tonight. Still, his eyes couldn't help roaming the area where Kokichi's hands were creepily massaging his middle. No, he couldn't see any sort of bloating, at least.

"Nyeeheeheehee! Eeehee, you're so amusing, Shumai. I love it! Thaaaat's a lie, though."

And there it was again...that _thing_.

"I've been meaning to ask..." Shuichi felt more confident in asking him things now. It wasn't pointless, it might not be fruitless. He was _trusted_ , after all... "What's 'Shumai'? Why do you keep saying that?"

"Wooooow, Shumai sure is dense!" Kokichi gave up on the suggestive stomach-stroking and shuffled back onto his knees, cocking his head at him. "It's your nickname, Shumai! You're Shumai, Shumai!"

"Uh..." Thoughts and rogue feelings flooded Shuichi's mind, and he couldn't help letting some of his poking flush seep through. _Oh gosh. I'd suspected as much, but... No one's ever given me a nickname before. It's kinda cute. Oh, geez, it's really cute..._

"Do you not like it?" Kokichi chirped...and...was there a tiny, tiny dusting of rose pink below his eyes, too? "Well, too bad! I'm gonna start calling you Shumai even more from now on, then!"

"O-Oh no... That's embarrassing..."

"Sure is! I want you thoroughly humiliated every time we meet!"

Again, those pixel renditions, that list in Monokuma's paw flashed through his mind. _Most popular couple. This isn't... It's not actually... Is this a romance thing? It's not, is it? Kaito gave Maki a nickname because he likes her, but, that's different. Right? Y-yeah. This is just a symbol...of our friendship._

His friendship with Kokichi...just the thought alone that he'd successfully managed to befriend this elusive boy was heartwarming enough. And despite the cheekiness in his grin, he could sort of tell that Kokichi was actually happy about this too. It was...just a feeling.

His illogical feelings weren't wrong.

\---

Before either of them knew it, the nighttime announcement played, and Shuichi wondered if anyone was searching for him after he didn't show up to dinner. Though, with the rumors going around, and the fact that both him and Kokichi were absent, everyone might've just decided to give them their "alone time". This certainly wasn't going to help the audience's obsession with them, was is? Whatever. Kokichi's health and his own investigations were more important.

Kokichi tried to tell him to leave, but Shuichi stubbornly refused. "You said this was a sleepover, right? Well, I fully intend to sleep over." And as much as Kokichi tried to say that he'd been lying about it being a sleepover, Shuichi wouldn't let him go back on his words. _I won't let him spend another sleepless night alone. Even if that's what he wants._

Kokichi also tried to designate the floor as his assigned sleeping space, but Shuichi refused even that. If they were going to blow open the doors, talk about things that they'd been avoiding discussing...now was the time.

"Kokichi...no." He almost reached for his hand, before he halted himself. "You've been having nightmares. I know it."

"Are you sure you aren't just imagining it?" Kokichi gave him a questioning look. "I know how you are. You want to paint me as a tormented soul, so you can jump in and rescue me. Maybe it's just your wishful thinking."

"No." He was going to say it. The secret, intimate knowledge he'd been keeping tucked within his heart. "That night...when you slept in my room... You wouldn't stop tossing and turning and groaning and shaking. You wouldn't stop until I...held your hand. I'm going to do that for you again."

"Pfha. Sounds like a made-up story to me." Kokichi gave a dismissive sideways glance. "I remember that night. You'd slithered into bed with me like a perverted little snake. But you definitely weren't holding my hand when I woke up."

Shuichi's forehead pinched. _Either he's lying, or it slipped out during the night...cause I_ know _I fell asleep that way._

"Buuuuut if you want me _that_ badly...I suppose I should let you perform your little experiment." Kokichi skipped over to his bedside, kicking off his shoes and beginning to undo his bandanna.

_Well, that was easier than I'd thought..._

"You're gonna have to hold Lord Darkmane, though."

_Lord Darkmane?_ "Um...you don't mean...that rubber horse head...?"

"What did you _think_ I meant, dumb-dumb?! And don't you dare throw him on the floor! You'll wake up with a chunk missing from your arm and your blood dripping from his muzzle. Believe me. He's possessed."

God, that crowned horse mask was so creepy-looking it almost seemed plausible. "O-Okay. I promise."

It was so, so awkward, but Shuichi delicately removed his jacket and shoes, unbuttoning his top dress shirt button for good measure.

"Just so you know, I normally sleep butt-naked, but you're not getting that luxury, you freak. All you get are your disgusting fantasies tonight."

"I'd never even...! Y-you know what? Just whatever. I'm not even going to dignify that with a reaction."

"Aw, nuts. But it still made your face go all crimson-hot, so I'm satisfied."

"No, it didn't! I'm not blushing right now--I can feel it."

"Nyeeheehee, who's the liar now?"

"It's still you."

"...True enough."

The back-and-forth eventually tapered away, and Shuichi awkwardly slipped himself into the bed, lifting the horse mask and tucking it under one arm. _This is the weirdest way I've ever slept...and that includes when I fell asleep in the archive room at Uncle's office..._

Kokichi complied, practically leaping in next to him. He rolled onto his side, facing his curled-in back to him...but he still extended his hand up to his shoulder for Shuichi to grasp. He hissed something about being a "hand-holding virgin" and how "people are going to be bored by how vanilla you are", but he completely ignored it. He had to force the silence and invite the calm restfulness that he wanted so much right now.

Despite the strange position of his body and the sharp scent of rubber against his nose, Shuichi could feel his chest, his muscles gently unwinding. Everything that had happened here today...it was over, but it _had_ happened. A solidarity, a mutual understanding between himself and Kokichi...the very thing he'd been chasing, that everyone else had thought impossible. It was here, he was here, he'd done it. He'd really done it. He'd _allowed_ him.

The pulsations of Kokichi's breath gradually evened off, lulling into a comfortable rhythm. And this was everything Shuichi had ever wanted, everything he'd ever hoped for. A wonderful sensation of serenity was spreading through him him now, and just before he slid his eyes shut, he looked over again. Kokichi's face was turned, and his vision was filled with the ruffled strands of his black-purple hair...but he recalled that peaceful face from before, imagining he was making it again now.

Before he even realized it, Shuichi was reaching around the horse mask...and he stroking the knuckle of his index finger very, very lightly over Kokichi's cheek. From what he could see...the line of his cheekbone was just a little bit fainter, less visible, jutting less from his face. He was _healing_. Bit by bit, Kokichi's body was beginning to mend. Thanks to all of his efforts, he was, if only a little bit, beginning to recover. And Shuichi was just so, so happy. Everything was getting better. Kokichi was going to be okay... Kokichi, who cared for him, enough to let him in, enough to deem him "trustworthy", enough to give him a cute nickname. Dear Kokichi...

"Gross." His voice mumble-whispered in the darkness. "...Hands are all cold."

"Shhhhh."

"No." He always had to have the last word.

Shuichi finally let his own eyes slide into the dark blankness of sleep, focusing on the tactile sensation of Kokichi's thin little hand nestled in his. _I'm here. Rest easy. Please rest._

The warm feeling of closeness, both emotional and physical, was quickly easing him into slumber. He could easily do this every night...and perhaps he would. Nothing could happen. A protective barrier had been erected, cradling their gently rejuvenating forms. And Shuichi let the blanketing serenity full envelop him.

\---

_Thmpbmp!_

What felt like only a few second later, Shuichi's heart shot startled adrenaline through him, re-activating his senses, like a flipped light switch. His numb brain could only register the lump under his arm, the lack of warmth to his left, and...the _noises_ slicing through his calm, secure world and tearing it apart in strips.

Thumping, bumping pounds of human limbs against carpet...the sharp slam of a door flinging desperately into its frame with far too much force. And then. The worst sound that had ever reached Shuichi's sensitive ears. Another slam...and coughing, gagging, wheezing...retching. The strangled gasps of a throat choking on its stomach contents, the sickening groans of rolling nausea, the clack of bony elbows on a toilet seat.

_Kokichi!!_

Shuichi's body tore from the bed, his entire existence rushing towards the source, nearly tripping over his own bare feet. His heart, his soul needed to be there. _Now_. The horse mask fell and bounced from the carpet, unheeded.

"Kokichi!!" Shuichi's raspy half-numbed voice called out, finally matching the sentiments in his head. His fist slammed into the cool metallic finish of the door. "K-Kokichi, what's going on?! Are you alright?!"

" _Kkc_..."

_What...what what what? Why? Why was he throwing up? What caused him to throw up? Is he sick? Everything was fine! He didn't seem nauseous or anything when we went to bed. Why...?! Kokichi!!_

Shuichi was just about to check the doorknob--force his way in, even if he didn't want it, even if he'd hate him for the remainder of their days, even if it was a mess in there. He didn't care. Something was very, very wrong, and his heart was pounding and crying out, a freezing pit of dread caving into him with worry. He'd been doing so well...everything had been so right, he'd been getting better, there had been food and comfort inside of him at last...but it was all being expelled now, wrenched away from him in an instant. And it made his addled, fuzzy head want to drip with hot tears.

Just then, the toilet flushed...water hissed...and before Shuichi had the chance, the door gave way right before him. The creature appeared in the doorway--the bent, twisted, tiny, spindly, darkness-dipped figure of Kokichi, the knobs of his knees shaking, his mouth in a thin, exhausted smile, highlighted by hooded, pooling eyes.

The spike of his elbow met the door frame, his fist supported the side of his disheveled head, and he leaned into a casual, flirtatious pose, like a sleazebag trying to pick up women at the door to the bar. "Heh...eheheheh."

Shuichi gaped, unable to formulate the words, the desperate questions he needed to figure out. Kokichi was a disaster, holding the torn pieces of his body and mind together with cheap, ragged, rainbow-colored stitches, and just seeing it in action made him want to cry out again.

"Congratulations, Detective." His voice was wavering just a tad, quiet, yet so resolute. His face, his grin lifted to look directly into his eyes...and the mania swirling within almost didn't seem real. "Now you know! You were...so close, too! But you were on the wroooong track. Y'see, it's not anorexia...it's actually bulimia!"

"Kokichi..."

"Nyeeheehee...eehee..." The signature laugh was so much weaker than usual...like it was fading away into nothingness.

_Is it...? Is it...really? Kokichi? Why would you...?_

"No..." Shuichi's replying voice was just as weak, winded from this whole encounter. "I don't...know. You...you ran here. Like it was...it was unexpected. If you'd purposely wanted to vomit, you could have...could have..."

His brain stalled for just a second. And that was the single second Kokichi had been waiting for.

Something was suddenly tightly squeezing onto Shuichi's face, a skeletal hand just on the other side of the thin cloth. His breath choked, stopped straight in his throat, and all of his organs, his functions, seemed to freeze.

"Eh...sorry, Shumai. But it's past your bedtime."

And that was the last thing he managed to hear...before his eyes rolled back in his head, and his body went entirely rigid, dropping to the floor like a dead weight.


	5. To Indulge

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ENORMOUS WARNING, TAKE HEED: 
> 
> This is the biggest kink chapter I have planned for this entire fic. Seriously, it's going to get more intense than it's even been thus far. 
> 
> IF THE FEEDING AND BELLY FETISH CONTENT MAKES YOU FEEL UNCOMFORTABLE, I HIGHLY SUGGEST YOU SKIP EVERYTHING FOLLOWING THE MONOKUBS SCENE. There is one important plot-relevant scene in the last few paragraphs, but other than that, it's just a truckload of kink, so don't worry that you're missing anything crucial to the plot. 
> 
> I actually worried and debated for a long time about whether to go through with this chapter the way I'd intended. I never expected this fic to gather a following of "normal" people. But this is what I'd always had planned from the start. At least you can rest assured that this is the "worst" it's ever going to get. There won't be any more extended kink scenes after this. 
> 
> If you're actually *here* for the kink, then sorry this is the most you're going to get, haha. 
> 
> If you still care about me after this, I want everyone to know--I'm heading to another convention very soon! I'll be at ColossalCon East as Shuichi Friday and Sunday and as Goro Akechi on Saturday, with a special someone. Please feel free to say hi to me if you're there and you recognize me! I really, really love meeting people who have read my fics, and it would make me super excited and happy!! 
> 
> This is my most kudos-ed fanfic, and it's astounding to me. Thank you so very much. Um...enjoy this mess?

Chapter 5: To Indulge

\---

The world was slowly seeping back to life. Shuichi tasted the stale air, his air passageways choked halfway closed. His ribcage pressed against something solid and immoveable. Pulses of pain squeezed through his head, down through his temples and his limbs. His backside felt sore and stiff.

For a solid few minutes, these sensations were the only things his brain would focus on. Paralyzed, his thoughts were a nebulous cloud, only capable of registering _hurt_ , _uncomfortable_ , and _can’t move_. Then…he began to recognize something lightly resting over his body…a blanket? And his vision fuzzed and focused and fell away from the darkness, revealing a blotchy ceiling and fluorescent overhead lights, which he immediately turned his head away from.

_Room…dorm room… My…? No…last night…_ The images in his memory were coming back to him now…the sea of messy papers in Kokichi’s room, the tiny forms of himself and his friends doodled in crayon, the photographs… _Trustworthy_ … And the thin, withered little figure of Kokichi himself, desperately clinging to the door-casing and flashing a glinting, wicked, shadowed grin.

“A-Ah…” Shuichi’s throat felt sticky and dry, but he forced the air out of him…and as soon as he could twitch his own fingers and toes again, he tugged his spine upward, hauling his heavy body into sitting upright.

Yes. It had all been real. He was still here in Kokichi’s room…but what…? There was, indeed, a thin black sheet over his body—it had fallen, pooling at his waist when he’d sat up. And a rustling drew his attention to the corner of the room, where the culprit himself was still at the scene, shuffling through another box of papers.

“ _Ahhhh_ , finally! Goooooood afternoon, Shumai!” Kokichi’s head jerked upwards to look at him, all smiles and rainbows, as usual. There was no sign of that sickly mess in his mind’s eye…he was probably covering it with layers of makeup and lies, like a dying creature secretly struggling to survive in the basement behind his eyes. “I hope you had a good little nappy-nap!”

“…….You…You drugged me.” Shuichi’s centers of logic were finally whirring back up to speed, processing everything he’d experienced. “Where did…you get it? My lab?”

“Ding ding ding! You got it! I swiped some things with my lightning-quick reflexes! And you didn’t even notice!”

Shuichi pressed his head into his palm. It had probably been an anesthetic—at least he’d never intended to harm him, only knock him out. But why? Because he didn’t want to deal with him knowing how sick he really was? Or was he hiding something else? Why would he go to such lengths? His head was starting to pound even more, and he groaned aloud.

“I’m lying, though,” Kokichi admitted, and though Shuichi was staring at the floor, he could hear him moving a bit closer. “I never took anything from your lab. But guess what? With a chemistry set from the warehouse, and a few reference books for instructions, anyone can concoct their own dangerous chemicals! Even you!” With one spindly arm, he jabbed a finger to the opposite side of the room, and Shuichi gingerly turned his head in that direction.

It was true…there were beakers and bottles of substances lined up on the side table, as well as a microscope and slides and Petri dishes. Had that all come from the warehouse? And…had he been using it to examine things on a microscopic level? How thorough was he being here? Shuichi was finding himself just a little bit impressed. But now wasn’t the time to be appreciating this little shit-bag’s intelligence.

“Last night…” He was going to talk about it—of course, he was going to talk about it. No more secrets, no more keeping his thoughts inside, waiting for the right moment. “You…threw up.”

“Yeah, cause I had to sleep next to _you_! I’m used to sleeping with Lord Darkmane, but with you there, I felt like I was suffocating!”

“No. You were fine for the first few hours. It was only later…”

“Cause my body just couldn’t take it anymore! Sheesh!” Kokichi clenched his fists before his chest. “And you made me eat all that gross junk food, too! It’s all your fault!”

_You ate it yourself, and you know it._ Shuichi groaned, giving a weak cough. _It’s too early, and my head hurts too much for this right now…_ Though if his earlier words had been the truth, it was already afternoon. Just how long had he been out?

“Kokichi…please…just… I saw you—you know I saw you. You’re…not well. I just want to know why.”

“Oh, you want to know? Well, I’ll tell you…” Kokichi was excitedly hopping from foot to foot again, his face displaying nothing but mirth. “All you need to do is take a little taste-test for me first, okay? Then I’ll let you know everything!”

“…And is it a bottle of poison you need me to taste-test?”

“Uh-uh, no way! I’d never do something like that to my dear Shumai! How dare you accuse me like that?!”

At least one thing was clear. Kokichi was willing to do anything—even hurt him—in order to protect the truth of his condition. _Is it an illness of some kind? Is that why he suggested everyone get health checkups? Or…_

Shuichi tried to envision the scene when he’d first woken up to the thumping and crashing of Kokichi scrambling to the bathroom. His hand… Of course, Kokichi had been gone already when he’d opened his eyes, but… His hand…his hand…had felt _cold_.

“Well, the answer’s still no.” Shuichi shifted his hips, carefully pulling himself up a little further. “Because…I’m going to figure it out for myself.”

“Yaaaay! That’s my Ultimate Detective!” There was too much cheerfulness in Kokichi’s voice for it to be genuine, though he was possibly relieved he’d stopped pushing the issue. “It’s no fun if I just give you all the answers, riiiight?”

“Uh…right.”

As stiff as his body still felt, Shuichi decided he had to begin the laborious process of getting up. His hands awkwardly grasped the blanket that pooled at his waist. Come to think of it…that had to mean Kokichi had draped it over him after knocking him out. That was just like him…stabbing someone, then tending to the wound. Shuichi didn’t know whether to laugh or cringe. Still, as he began to lift the blanket off his body, something felt…a little strange.

This blanket was quite thin and it had a really weird shape to it… Shuichi stretched it out in his hands to get a better look at it. It was dark purple on the inside and black on the outside…reversible, sure, but… It was ragged and chopped up at the bottom, as if it had been snagged and torn in several places. Well…maybe it had just been ripped from a larger piece of fabric…like a curtain from the warehouse. But as he spread it out more and more, an even stranger aspect appeared.

At one end, it was gathered together…ending in a silvery pin and… He ran his hand over it, just to be sure, but that’s what it was, after all…a hard edge…a _collar_. This wasn’t a blanket, this wasn’t a curtain—this was a _cape_.

Experimentally, Shuichi threw it over his shoulders. He didn’t put his head through the collar, but even so, it felt slightly too small, not falling in the right places.

“…This is yours, isn’t it?” He couldn’t help blurting out. It had to be. Kokichi had covered him with his own cape. That was…kind of sweet. _Am I forgetting that he knocked me out with anesthetic_ _gas for several hours?! Geez, don’t call him “sweet” after_ that _!_

“Of course, and it looks like shit on you. Gimme.” Without waiting for compliance, Kokichi strode forward and snatched the cape from Shuichi’s shoulders. Well, at least he was admitting it.

In a dramatic swirl, Kokichi flung the cape out behind him, wrapping it over his neck, fastening and unfastening the clasp in the blink of an eye. Suddenly, he reached up, into his closet, the door just slightly cracked open, and extracted something else, shoving it firmly onto his head. It was…some sort of military-style cap, the same black shade as the cape. The dark colors of these two items oddly complimented the white of his uniform rather well. Weirdly enough, though he’d never seen them before, Shuichi felt like they _belonged_ there. _Had_ he never seen them before? The image just seemed too…familiar. But he’d had no idea Kokichi owned such items. With a tiny frown, he filed that feeling away for later.

“A-hahahaha!” Kokichi’s face contorted into one of his milder menacing expressions, bending his arm up and resting two fingers just below the brim of his hat. “Tremble in fear, Shuichi Saihara, for today, you finally witness my _true terrible form_!”

“Well, uh…that certainly does make you look more like a supreme leader.” Only three days ago, Shuichi might have actually felt a bit intimidated by this display of grandeur. Yet now… There was just something about it—the jagged edge of the cape, the colorful buttons still visible on the front of his jacket. It was…playful. “Is that…actually part of your outfit? And why haven’t you ever worn it in front of us before?”

“Pfft, are you kidding?!” Kokichi dropped the dark, narrowed eyes, and lifted both arms, spreading the cape out as wide as it would go, like some kind of super-villain. “It’s the real deal, of course, but can you imagine me walking around like _this_ every day? No one would _ever_ take me seriously!”

_…No one ever takes you seriously anyway._

Shuichi peered in the direction of the open closet… There was…something else in there, sitting at the very bottom, between the folds of billowing cloaks and skinny white pants legs. Mostly white, bubbled outwards like a shell, with paint on it…an…an eyelash?

But before he could squint closer and try to make it out, Kokichi’s foot kicked to the side, slamming the door shut. Well, he’d seen the multiple cloaks, at least… So, the Mastermind had given them to him, as part of his outfit…but he refused to wear them. Strange… And he’d very obviously just tried to prevent Shuichi from looking further into the closet. So…there really was something in there he wasn’t ready to let him see? Was it that thing?

His mind automatically filled in the word—that _mask_. Had it been a mask? He wasn’t sure, and yet, he was sure. _Kokichi owns a mask_ , was the unconfirmed message entering into him now… He _did_ , but what was its significance? Why didn’t he want him to see it? _Man…I should have went for the closet when he let me investigate alone…_

But as soon as that thought crossed his brain, Shuichi felt terrible about his own desire to violate his privacy like that. _Well, I wouldn’t mind being patient and waiting until he’s ready to tell me, but…we don’t have much time left._ Today…today would make day eight already.

Wow… The time limit was quickly creeping up on him, and Shuichi suddenly felt an uncomfortable swirl of coldness in the pit of his stomach. What would happen if he didn’t figure everything out by then? Would he and Kokichi “graduate”, if they were still the “most popular couple”? How would everyone react to _that_? Not well, he could picture it now. Would Kaito and Maki surpass him? Would _they_ have to leave, trapping the rest of them here for the remainder of their hopeless lives? Or…would Monokuma get bored and decide to initiate the “killing game” after all?

Slowly, Shuichi struggled to his feet, dragging his body back onto the bed behind him.

Kokichi continued to snicker and play with his cape, ducking into it like a bat and hissing about all the “horrified looks” on the faces of whoever dared to stand in his way when he arrived in this “form”. Somewhere during his speech, he actually slipped into the bathroom, returning with a glass of tap water, which he thrust into Shuichi’s hand. The cape flapped up behind him as he bounded across the garbage-strewn room, but instead of making him shiver, the sight made a tiny smile poke at Shuichi’s lips. Trusting in him, he sipped at the water, letting it wash his throat and seep into his body. Perhaps…Kokichi felt just a slight bit guilty about what he’d done to him. Shuichi kind of hoped that were true.

However, only a few minutes later, Kokichi was hurrying him along, insisting he leave immediately. “After all,” he’d teased. “You’ve lost a loooot of valuable time lying here in Snoozeland. Time you could’ve spent actually getting some detective work done for once.” So, despite how his head still ached, Shuichi pushed himself to freshen up and get dressed, amidst Kokichi’s needling.

To no avail, he asked if he was coming with him, if he’d had breakfast, if it was around lunchtime, and of course, Kokichi deflected every question by insulting and threatening him. It had him worried again… How much of that food had Kokichi managed to fully digest before throwing up the rest? Why was it so difficult to get and _keep_ nourishment inside him? Nevertheless, he wasn’t feeling well enough to really stand his ground, and that had probably been part of Kokichi’s strategy as well.

The smaller boy tossed his cape and hat onto his bed and opened his door, practically pushing Shuichi out through it. _Does he want to let me in more or not? Make up your mind, Kokichi._ Though he definitely, definitely had to confront him about what he’d seen, what he’d surmised from that…encounter…Shuichi would unfortunately have to wait for a better opportunity.

As he trudged through the courtyard, in the direction of the dining hall, he ran into Himiko and Tenko, and from their (mostly one-sided) banter, gathered that it was past noon already. No wonder he felt so sluggish. Shuichi was no stranger to getting up late, but even so, he never usually slept past 11:30.

There were only a few people in the dining hall when he slipped in, through the rear entrance, but…it was just who he didn’t want to see. Kaede, Miu, Kiibo, and Kirumi. Well, Kiibo and Kirumi weren’t too much of a problem, but…

Immediately, as soon as he entered, Miu burst into raucous laughter, asking about his “hot dickings”, and if he’d remembered to wash all the cum out of his hair. At least Kaede was there to snap at her and make her relent, for which Kiibo was also grateful. But Kaede…

Naturally, she was incredibly worried, and as soon as he took a seat, she was already beside him, delicately asking if he was alright, what had happened last night, had he had another one of those panic episodes, and of course, if it had anything to do with Kokichi. “I swear, if he really _has_ hurt you, I’m going to have some _choice_ words with him. Involving fists.”

This was exactly what Shuichi had been dreading—the questions, the doubts…the suspicions directed at the small liar on his behalf. Of course, he appreciated how much she was looking out for him—she’d have his back if something _did_ ever go wrong between them, but…

_I wonder what it would take for her to trust him…_ It wasn’t necessarily that he _needed_ her to trust him, but it was a question of if it would ever be possible. He wished the people he cared about would get along, even if they wouldn’t stand in his way.

Shuichi felt horribly guilty about how much he’d freaked out on her yesterday. He had to continually assure her that he was doing fine…and also subtly urge her to hang out with more people other than just him. He…wanted her to find a special someone and be happy with them, whoever it was. His memory flashed back to that picture of her and Rantaro on Kokichi’s whiteboard and chuckled internally. _I would try to set them up together if I were more skilled at such things._ Maybe he’d ask Kaito to do it sometime.

Sometime…they were running out of time, though. If this were all just a normal high school life, they’d have weeks, months to work something out, but…for now, only three days remained. And today was already almost half-over.

“Hey, Kaede? What do you suppose is going to happen when…when time is up?”

“I was going to ask you the same question.” She clenched her fists at the hem of her music staff-patterned skirt. “The rules aren’t exactly clear. If only the graduating couple gets to leave, what are the rest of us supposed to do? Are they really just going to leave us trapped here forever? It seems unreasonable.”

_It’s either that or…the alternative “game” Monokuma wanted to force us into._ Kokichi certainly seemed to think a killing might happen… Even if the killing game never officially started, if one of them really _was_ a serial killer… Shuichi hated thinking about it, but he’d have to consider these possibilities.

Kaede finished her late lunch and went on her way, apparently meeting up with Tsumugi and Rantaro for something. She invited Shuichi along, too, of course, but he refused, saying he had some work to do today…which was kind of true. He sincerely hoped they had a great time, though.

A minute later, Kiibo and Miu got up to leave too, and he had to seize his chance. “Uh—wait a moment!” God, his voice was awkward.

The two of them looked to him with surprise and slight amusement (on Miu’s part). “Whatta you want, Poo-ichi?”

“Well…Kiibo, I want to talk to you about something…”

“Certainly, Shuichi, I--”

“Hahaha! What you need with a robot boy, huh? Not satisfied enough with the boy-toy you already got and looking for a more effective one?”

Shuichi’s teeth clenched. Having to deal with Miu was…much more annoying than dealing with Kokichi, really. “I’m…sorry. I don’t mean to interrupt your time together. I just need a few moments alone with him…”

Wrong thing to say. “I’m sure you do! I knew you were the type to just blow your load and run! Ah, but whatever. Finish him up quickly, okay, Kiibo?”

“I…do not know what you mean by ‘finish him’,” Kiibo innocently questioned. “I have no intent to harm him. But I shall return to the lab as soon as we’re done, I promise!”

With a few more taunts, Miu finally left the room, leaving Shuichi wondering if she really was kind of upset. _She’s really attached to him, it seems. It’s kind of sweet, in a weird, slightly concerning way._

Kirumi had returned to the kitchen, diligently washing dishes and wiping the counters and such…so they were alone, and it was the perfect opportunity. These thoughts had occurred to Shuichi last night…but asking Kokichi about it would have been useless.

“So!” The metallic boy gave an enthusiastic little smile. “You have a question for me, Shuichi? Go ahead—I’ll tell you anything you wish to know. Are you interested in my variety of useful functions, perhaps?”

“Uh…” Shuichi gave a sheepish grin. “Well, actually…it’s kind of about Kokichi.”

“Kokichi?!” Kiibo seemed shocked, but at least he didn’t seem offended. “He may hang around me quite a bit, but I most certainly wish he wouldn’t. I don’t know anything more about him than the rest of you do.”

“Actually…you do know something.” Shuichi pressed a finger to his chin in consideration. “When you first regained consciousness here, you were in that classroom with Kokichi, right? Just like I woke up in a locker beside Kaede.”

“Ah!” Kiibo seemed surprised, as if he’d only just remembered that fact. “Yes, that is correct…”

“What was he like when he first woke up? I just wonder…”

Kokichi knew something. Kokichi remembered something that everyone else had forgotten—perhaps he’d been the only one to retain their stolen memories. And in order to piece that together…he’d have to look at how he’d acted right after the supposed memory-wipe. Had he said anything weird to Kiibo, anything that might have given him a clue, perhaps in an effort to figure out if he’d retained his memories, too?

Kiibo had assumed a thinking pose, as if trying to access those memories from seven days ago. “That’s right…” His voice was slightly incredulous and actually quite human. “When I first encountered Kokichi, he was pressed at the very back of the classroom locker, and he was…quiet. Far, far quieter than he is now. It looked like he was having difficulty breathing, so I offered him use of my resuscitation function, but he just pushed me away and refused to say anything. His symptoms seemed consistent with a human experiencing what is known as “shell shock”. I surmised that it must have been due to the trauma of his kidnapping. It was pretty bad, and it actually took a while before he would even look at me. The look on his face…I’ve never seen anything like it since.”

“Actually…isn’t it true that you can print out a photograph from your memory banks?” Shuichi wasn’t sure how he’d remembered, or even where he’d heard about that, but…he just knew that Kiibo would be able to print out a picture of something he’d seen in the past—a literal photographic memory.

“Oh! Yes! Miu just installed that function to me a few days ago! Did she tell you, Shuichi?”

“Um…well, I kind of overheard her bragging about it.” It probably wouldn’t be a good idea to try to explain, and besides, it was entirely conceivable that she’d been caught bragging, anyway.

“Oh…I should have figured.” Kiibo awkwardly shifted positions. “Alright. Give me just a moment, please.”

His body went rigid, and the optics of his eyes blinked out, replaced by disturbing static displays in his eye sockets. That was probably a result of him searching inward through his memory banks. It had been over a week, after all…it would probably take a bit for him to pull it up. A soft whirring noise began to crackle from Kiibo’s head…and then…

“Ah…” Suddenly, his neon blue sight eyes blinked back on, and their path immediately diverted towards the ground. One arm raised, almost protectively. “Actually…now that I am considering this… It…doesn’t feel right. My centers of morality processing are telling me…there’s something not quite okay about this. I feel as if I am…violating his privacy.”

“Oh.” A tiny throb pulsed Shuichi’s heart. It must have been bad. The picture must’ve shown Kokichi in a terribly vulnerable state, one that he would never want anyone to see. _I can’t say I’m not curious to see it, but…he’s right. It does feel like an invasion of privacy. It seems a little cruel._

“I understand.” Shuichi bowed his head. “I probably shouldn’t have asked.”

“It’s alright. You’re just trying to get through to him, aren’t you?” Kiibo perked up again, planting his fists on his hips. “That is a very admirable goal. And I believe if anyone can do it, you can, Shuichi.”

“Thank you…” At least he didn’t seem to think it was a romance thing, like everyone else…though Kiibo was often fairly clueless about such things.

Now, there was one last stop to make. Parting agreeably from the Ultimate Robot, Shuichi made his way back into the kitchen, where he was certain Kirumi was still working.

He hadn’t forgotten, of course. That suggestion Kokichi had made while they’d been investigating the warehouse…that ominous suggestion that everyone should have a health checkup. If someone was secretly ill—well, besides Kokichi himself—he desperately needed to know. Maybe someone was hiding a disability…in which case, he wanted to help them be more comfortable and reduce their struggles. But mostly…if there _was_ an abnormality, how would Kokichi have known about it? It would only add on to the picture he was slowly building, the evidence he was collecting bit by bit, to prove his own wild theories…because he couldn’t even believe them himself.

He phrased the request in a way that seemed reasonable—there wasn’t an actual medical facility at this school, strangely enough, and he’d been starting to feel a bit strange, so he believed everyone should have an examination in case there was lingering effects from the drugs used to wipe their memory. If Kirumi thought Shuichi’s idea was strange, she didn’t express it, simply agreeing and cautioning him that while she did have some degree of medical training, she could not substitute for a licensed doctor. As soon as possible, she resolved to catch each of their classmates for a checkup, and report anything especially concerning. And, naturally, Shuichi consented to becoming the first examinee.

Kirumi led him upstairs to her talent lab, into the side-room, where she kept cleaning supplies and did the laundry. Pulling out a laundry-folding table, she used it as a makeshift exam table, draping it in a sheet and gently laying him down on it. You had to hand it to her—she managed to make her examination and evaluation as quickly and comfortably as possible. Anyone else might’ve chuckled at him and jokingly asked if he was enjoying being touched by this beautiful woman…but it was really nothing. It didn’t make him flustered at all…maybe it _should_ be, but… Frankly, he just didn’t care.

Shuichi sat up once she was finished, awkwardly swinging his legs while he contemplated. Some of the others might give her hell over this…but he was certain she’d be able to handle it. And fortunately, she _was_ female, as Tenko would never allow a man to examine her.

“You appear to be healthy enough,” Kirumi told him, at last. “Though I detect a worrying tightness in your muscles, especially your shoulders. Might I suggest some relaxing herbal tea and a massage?”

“Uh…thank you, but I’ll pass.” There was no time to indulge in relaxation. “You’re right, though—I have been exceptionally uptight recently. I’ll try my best to relax more.”

“Yes, please do. Too much stress may negatively impact your physical health as well as your mental health, so do take care.”

Shuichi thanked her again and reminded her to report any concerning abnormalities in their classmates tomorrow. _I hope nothing turns up, of course, but…I almost hope something_ does _turn up._ That was an awful, self-serving thought, but…it would mean he was on the right track.

_These visions…I feel like Kokichi is intentionally trying to trigger them. So that I’ll remember…I’ll remember what he remembers, and everyone else forgot._

That soul-crushing image invaded his consciousness…that empty, dark piano lab, the horrible, twisting sorrow in the depths of his heart. _Maybe…I don’t want to remember. Maybe it’s best that I_ don’t _remember._ There had to be a mountain of suffocating pain somewhere in these memories…Kiibo’s account all but confirmed it. They were terribly, terribly painful…immobilizing, heart-rending pain… Did he really want to put himself through that?

_But it’s not fair._ Shuichi’s teeth pressed together behind his lips as he made his way up towards his research lab again. _It’s not fair that only Kokichi remembers, that he’s the only one to go through such pain. I want to know. I want to remember, if only…to know what he knows. If only…to share his burden, just a little bit._

Kokichi had been evaluating everyone, deciding who to entrust with his insight, who to reach out to, with whom to share this crushing weight. And that person was him.

Shuichi spent a while mulling over the poison bottles again and thumbing through some of his case files. He should’ve asked Kokichi if he’d noticed anything more about the files he’d taken, but then again, getting him to admit if he _had_ found anything would’ve been a verbal tug-of-war.

Nothing was really coming to him…but again, the conviction was forming. Everything lined up—his visionary flashes, the feelings of déjà vu, the way he just seemed to _know_ things without ever being told. Something had happened in the past. They’d known each other, they’d been _here_ before, prior to this event.

Shuichi felt anxious the more he meditated on that possibility. What had he done in the past? What _hadn’t_ he done? He could only hope to Atua, or whatever divine powers existed in this world, that he’d never hurt anyone.

Hours later, Shuichi found himself wandering back out to the courtyard, deliberately searching for the white-clothed supreme leader. Tenko and Himiko were sitting under the trellis, and Himiko was performing some tricks especially for Tenko, which was adorable, especially since she was so excited and encouraging the whole time. Gonta appeared to be out searching for bugs in the bushes again. Everything seemed so peaceful…you’d never guess that their time was beginning to run short.

Shuichi idly walked down the path towards the casino area—the very same path where he’d run into Monokuma yesterday. But as soon as he approached the gate, something suddenly _clamped_ around his ankles nearly causing him to topple forward into the concrete.

“Aa-aaaaah!”

“Caught ya, Shumai!”

It was him—of course it was him. Kokichi had literally slid out from under a bench, getting a good grasp at Shuichi’s ankles as he’d walked past. He grinned as he picked himself up again. “Awww, I was hoping you would’ve screamed more, though! You really need to work on your terrified reactions. You’re a disappointment.”

“Hello.” _Never just a simple greeting, huh?_

The feeling between them now was just _awkward._ Shuichi couldn’t say he wasn’t at least a little glad to see him again, but…that one action…the fact that Kokichi had, indeed, attacked him, even if he’d never intended to injure him… God, Shuichi would give anything for another Kokoronpa Device right now.

“Is that all you have to say to someone who just tried to trip you?” He wanted attention—Kokichi was always out for attention.

“Well…yeah. What do you want with me, Kokichi? You must want something, for you to approach me like this.”

“Heehee! You think so?” Kokichi clutched his hands behind his back, his face a perfect façade of health and happiness. “You _are_ my investigation lackey, you know. If you’re not doing your job properly, I’m going to have to ship you off to the desert mines.”

_What the heck does that mean?_ “Uh…you want to continue our investigations?”

“No, _duh_!” Kokichi rolled his round, purple eyes. “That’s your entire reason for existing, isn’t it?”

“Um…” Shuichi honestly felt a little flustered. Was he trying to shut him out or what? It seemed that he still wanted to spend time with him…especially to seek him out like this, lie in wait for him like this… Even though he’d slammed the door in his face in such a violent way last night…

_Maybe he’s just afraid_ , he thought. It concurred with the small bit he’d seen of his inner voice. _He still wants to trust me, but he’s afraid of letting me know too much._ Maybe during this investigation, he would reveal something else to him…give him more little hints and drop even more breadcrumbs to help him arrive at the truth. It was honestly…exciting.

“Sure, I’d like to, but…where else could we even investigate? We searched the entire school a few days ago.”

“Oh, Shuichi…silly, simple-minded little Shumai…” Kokichi gave a wicked smirk. “How dare you forget your own overlord’s skillset? That’s downright disrespectful. Your future punishment is getting more and more severe.”

“Are you talking about…lockpicking?” Shuichi was learning to ignore his vague threats by now. “But you said you can’t pick a lock if it’s electronic. That wasn’t a lie, was it?”

“Nope! For once, I wish it _was_ a lie…” Kokichi slumped his shoulders and gave a dejected look that was probably fake or exaggerated. “Then we’d be able to expose our dear Rantaro for his crimes against humanity. But no, no, there’s somewhere with a regular ‘ol lock that we can totally bust into!”

“…You’re not going to make me break into someone’s room with you…”

“Nyeeheeheehee! Wow, I didn’t even think of that! That’s an awesome idea!” Kokichi immediately seemed to perk up, eyes shining with mischief. “I should make you steal something from Kiiboy for me! That way, _you’ll_ be the one fried by his laser cannons, not me!”

_Kiibo doesn’t have laser cannons, though._ Shuichi had to force himself not to respond and derail the conversation. “So if it’s not a dorm room, where are you thinking of lockpicking?”

“Oh, c’mon, Shumai! Use that limp noodle of yours! You pass by it eeeeevery day, cause you’re a scumbag! Haven’t you ever been curious to see what’s in that building?”

_“That building”?_ There was an entire building he’d never even set foot in? Well, there _was_ that door near Miu’s lab, but wasn’t that also an electronic lock? Wait…

A little spark of anxious realization pulsed through Shuichi’s chest, and Kokichi’s smug smirk only confirmed it. No, there was another lock, another building…and one that was very close by, in fact.

“You’re not talking about… But… Um, there shouldn’t be anything… _important_ in there…”

“This is a _dating show_ , sweetcheeks, if anything, it’s the _most_ important place.”

“But…but don’t you need to pay…um, for access?”

Kokichi seemed to be having a ball, snickering behind raised fists at Shuichi’s distress. “Not when we have me! The Monokubs made a special key for it and tried to make us grind up casino coins to pay for it, but nooooooo. The only thing “special” about that key is how expensive it is. I can get us in there lickety-split.”

“Uh?!” Shuichi regrettably felt himself heating up with another flush. _The “love hotel”, the “Hotel Kumasutra”… I can’t believe he’s actually suggesting we go to such a place. I mean…he’s not thinking of…doing anything to me, right? It’s true, that_ is _one of the only places I’ve yet to investigate. And it could be just a farce, and the inside of the building is something entirely different. Perhaps the Mastermind dressed it up in such a way specifically to keep us out. Though…with people like Miu, I doubt it._

He couldn’t deny the tiny possibility, though, and as he went through the mental exercises of convincing himself, Kokichi’s little grin only grew wider, his cheeks squeezing at his eyes in glee. What in the world was he planning? Shuichi wanted to believe that he’d never hurt him, but after last night…

“…Okay.” Shuichi finally steeled his nerves, gathered all of his resolve, and made the decision. “We can check it out. It’s true that no one knows what’s in there, and there could be something important. But…but if you mean to harm me at all…”

“Oh, don’t worry about that! I didn’t bring any drugs or anything with me!” Kokichi formed a much more gentle-looking smile, but what if it was just a lie? “In fact, consider this my little apology gift.”

_What does_ that _mean?!?!_

“Nyeeheehee! Well, c’mon, let’s goooo!” The concerning little trickster was already skipping to the gate of the casino area, pulling it open and beckoning for Shuichi to follow.

_What am I getting myself into now?_ But…this was his fate. Shuichi had already made the decision to trust Kokichi, despite what had occurred. It had been his decision to dive into this pit of uncertainty and potential dangers, and he would have to stand by it. For his sake, and for Kokichi’s sake, too…because no matter what he did, or how he tried to cover it up, Kokichi was still suffering.

They wandered through the artificial nightfall, down the path to the ominously flashing sign of the “love hotel”. Well…this was definitely going to be the most interesting “investigation” they’d yet experienced together. And hopefully…Kokichi had a few more scraps of information for him, too.

“Alrighty!” The purple tips of Kokichi’s messy, flipped hair bounced as he whirled around before the door. “There’s just one teensy tinsy problem.”

“What is that?” Shuichi was almost afraid to ask.

And unexpectedly, Kokichi fiddled with the knot behind his head, sliding the checkered bandanna from around his neck. His collarbone appeared again, still distractingly bony. He hadn’t gained enough weight for that to stop jutting out so precariously. “You’re gonna have to tie this tight around my face and lead me up to the second floor. Cause I can’t breathe or look at anything while we’re on the first floor. You got that?”

“ _What_?!” Shuichi was completely caught off-guard. “Why do I need to do that?!”

“Becaaaaaauuse…” Kokichi’s tone was whiny, as if he was tired of having to explain everything. “There’s something in the air and in the lights on the first floor. Some kind of mind-control gas and memory-wiping light rays…aphrodisiacs and such.”

_Aphrodisiacs?!_

“When I tried going in there by myself, I immediately lost consciousness, and I woke up in my bed, with the Monokubs chastising me for not “using it properly”. And I got them to let slip that they’re using some chemicals in the air on level one to get us to “embrace our deepest desires and urges”. Haha, I sure hope nothing else happened to me!”

A sick feeling squirmed at the edges of Shuichi’s heart and down into his stomach. That was…disgusting. If it was the truth, which he didn’t doubt it was, that was…a horrible thing to do. And all just for some “good television”. This Mastermind, the people behind this whole thing…they didn’t even consider them human beings…just toys that they could manipulate to their will. The true cruelty of their situation was coming back to light, and he found himself more determined than ever to put an end to it.

“That’s horrible.”

“Nyeehee! I bet it made for some interesting shots, though! And for some reason, they said it doesn’t affect you specifically. They engineered you to be immune to it or something. Probably cause they saw your popularity potential and wanted to get you to bang everyone.”

_Why…?_ The uncomfortable sensation in Shuichi’s stomach rolled over again. _They wanted to use me for entertainment…make me hurt the others? Or make the others throw themselves at me without consent from either of us? If that’s all really true…I’m glad he told me. Really, really glad…_

Kokichi held the bandanna out towards him. “So go on and wrap me up. Unless…you _want_ me to turn into a horny little bitch and possibly let you do unmentionable pleasures to me.”

“ _No_!” Shuichi immediately cried, to which Kokichi broke into titters again, probably thinking he was in denial again. “No, that wouldn’t be right, no matter what! Because you wouldn’t be yourself, and…”

Shuichi realized what he was saying, and clamped his mouth shut, his entire face blooming tomato-red. _“Ooooh, so you’re saying you_ would _do if I_ was _myself, huh?”_ He could just hear the next line wavering out of Kokichi’s mouth. “J-j-j-just forget it.”

Kokichi made a motion of pulling an invisible thread out of his forehead and flicking it away into the water. “ _Fwssh_! O-kay! Forgotten!” And Shuichi found himself…gratefully relieved.

With a few more urgings, he finally took the bandanna in his hand. Kokichi knelt beside the lock of the hotel’s front doors and went to work. It was kind of impressive…watching the delicate movements of his skinny fingers plying the metallic needles, the level of concentration in his focused eyes, the minute adjustments he made…it was like watching a master oil painter, and it was just further evidence that Kokichi did have genuine talent. He was…kind of a genius.

At last, the lock clacked into position and he drew back, cheerily announcing that he’d done it. Shuichi felt kind of bad as he fitted the bandanna around Kokichi’s face and tied it as tight as he could, to Kokichi’s own urging. He was too kind, and hadn’t tied it tight enough at first, too wary of causing him any accidental pain. The sight was disturbing…the checkered cloth entirely covering his face, stretched over the bumps of his nose, his lips…his hair ruffled in the back, around the knot triple-tired for extra security.

“Okie-dokies!” His voice was just as bright as ever, though slightly muffled. “Once you open the door, I’m going to start holding my breath, so gimme a signal on three.”

A spark beat through Shuichi’s heart as Kokichi reached out, groping around…and grabbing a hold of his hand. It was so innocent, but so intimate. Was this…another demonstration of his trust? Fully blindfolded, dependent on him for sight and guidance… Giving him the reigns, allowing him to lead him, entrusting him with his well-being…

Joyful affection flitted through Shuichi’s chest, and he gave that bony hand a little squeeze. He had to keep proving it, demonstrating it, over and over…that he could be trusted with anything, with his very life. He moved close to the door, gently tugging Kokichi after him, like a parent leading a reluctant child.

Giggles and snickers crackled from under the bandanna. “My dear Shumai better not lead me into a wall! Or an incinerator! Or drop me down the stairs! Cause that’s totally what I would do!”

“No, I’d never.” Shuichi rubbed slightly at his fingers with his thumb…and placed his other hand on the door. He called out the count…and Kokichi took his last big gulp of air just before he shoved it open, yanking both of them immediately inside.

“Ah—oh, _God_.” The sight was almost nauseating. Harsh, pink lights, sickly pink décor, rotating cutouts of carousel horses with Monokuma’s wicked grin, a bed adorned with a heart-shaped backing of lights, and… Some very, very dubious instruments sat in the far right corner, and Shuichi gulped, his knees almost quaking at the thought of being made to use them. He could see the shape of Kokichi’s lips quivering, curling into a smile, and he just knew he was silently laughing at his reaction. But the sight at least pulled him back into the moment. Kokichi couldn’t breathe—they couldn’t stay here for another second.

A metal staircase headed upwards in the left corner, and Shuichi shoved his body forward, prompting Kokichi into a faster walk after him. He was going too fast, and the blinded boy tripped on the lowest step, nearly toppling forward, if not for Shuichi’s steadying hand.

“Step up,” he commanded, and he easily obeyed. “Step, step, step, step…” Shuichi guided him up the stairs as quickly and efficiently as he could. _If only I could carry him… I need to work my arms a bit more._ But, thankfully, Kokichi got the rhythm, and began to climb a bit faster.

A heavy, thick metal door lied at the top, and Shuichi gently halted his companion’s climbing motions with a tug at his hand. He had to use all the strength he possessed in his remaining arm to force the door open, but he did. And at last, they’d arrived at the second floor.

A carpeted hallway stretched out before them, several rooms on either side. The same sickly rose-tinted lights extended down the ceiling, bathing it in another pinkish tone.

“ _Haaaaaah_!” Kokichi let his breath go, carefully inhaling again, as if testing the air before deciding to take it in. It was fine, and even though the gas in the previous room hadn’t had any effect on him, Shuichi could still sense a minute difference in the air’s quality and weight. It was clear up here. Thank God.

“Heeeeey, we made it.” Kokichi spoke up, and the sound of his voice was weirdly relieving. “Now…are there any pink lights on his floor?”

“Uh yeah…there’s a hallway with rooms, and the lights go all the way down the hallway.”

“Yeah, those are bad news. So I still won’t be able to open my eyes for a bit. But let’s get into one of the rooms! I wanna see what they got in ‘em!”

Shuichi led Kokichi to the door second from the right. It looked…just like a normal hotel room door, with a gold letter “3” pasted onto it and everything. And it was locked. Kokichi heard the clicking as Shuichi turned the handle and uselessly tried to move it. “There’s a lock. It’s…not electronic, but…”

“Gimme, gimme!” Kokichi was already reaching down to his pants, pulling out his lockpicking needles again. “I can do it! You’re just gonna have to guide my hands toward it first, though.”

It felt even more awkward than just holding hands, but Shuichi complied, cupping his hands around Kokichi’s and lifting them until they were level with the lock. It further proved how much of an expert he was…that he could do this without even looking. It didn’t take long for the lock to clack open, and Kokichi’s hands pressed forward, pushing the door fully open, and taking a few strides over the threshold.

Shuichi closely followed, shutting the door behind him. “The light’s normal,” he announced, and Kokichi instantly ripped the bandanna from his face.

“Phew! Boy, am I glad that’s over!” He blinked a few times, adjusting to the light, and then scurried further into the room.

It looked like a normal hotel room, and the fact that it was so _normal_ was what made it eerie. A queen-sized bed, a few cabinets, a coffee maker and dresser…even a bathroom off to the side. It almost mimicked the same style as their dorm rooms, except everything was colored in red and pink. How many rooms were there? There were only sixteen of them, so…there shouldn’t be any more than eight. And had Monokuma ever planned on any of them actually paying the fee for an overnight stay?

While Shuichi doubted the logistics of this setup, Kokichi was tearing through the drawers of the bureau, checking under the bedcovers and in the cracks between the furniture and the walls…wow, he really was pretty thorough.

“Nope, nothing here!” When he’d finished his investigation, he popped up, throwing his arms behind his head as per usual. “I guess this was all a waste of time!”

“Kokichi?” Shuichi took a solid step towards him and tilted his head down to look into his masking grin. “…Is there anything…you wanted to tell me?”

Honestly, he’d had his suspicions about this whole endeavor, and his reaction just now only assured him. _No, he didn’t want to come here to investigate. He knew all along that there wouldn’t be anything important here._

“Nyeehee! It sounds like you want me to make a love confession! Naaaah, sorry, Shumai, I don’t have any feelings for you. And even if I did, I’d never tell you.”

_At least one part of that is definitely true._ A tiny fluttery feeling embraced Shuichi’s chest again, just at the idea that he _could_ have feelings for him. _It…would be kind of…okay, I suppose. I…wouldn’t mind…_

“Then…why are we here?”

“Weeeeeellll…” Kokichi heavily seated himself at the edge of the bed, swinging his slender legs and bouncing his heels off the side of the box spring. “What do _you_ want to do, huh?”

“What do…I want to do?” What an odd question. “I want to…not be here.”

“Kaha! I’m happy to be among my own dirty-liar-kind!” Kokichi tapped at his knee, impatiently. “Now, come on, I thought we’d moved past that.”

_Moved past…what? Kokichi, please, you have to stop being so vague. I know I’m supposed to figure it out, but…_

“What was it you wanted to do? What was it you wanted to do sooooo badly that you trapped me in your room and gave up on all your friends for?”

_Gave up on all my friends? No, I haven’t. But…but he must be talking about…my feeding thing._

Shuichi couldn’t help averting his eyes as Kokichi fiddled with the ends of his hair and quietly chuckled to himself. “To…make sure you eat.”

“Uh-huuuuuh? And that’s not allllll…”

“To, uh, to see you eat…well and…feed you.”

“ _Dingdingdingdingdingdingding_! We have a winner!” Kokichi dramatically lifted his arms and extended his hands, framing Shuichi in his palms. “So, what are we here for again? Let’s put two and two together now—you can handle a simple little problem like this, I have faith in you! …I totally don’t, though, that’s a lie.”

_Um, what?!_ Shuichi’s overwhelmed brain flooded freezing heat through his whole body. _That’s not… He doesn’t mean… It can’t be… I don’t… Why…?_

“Use your words, Shumai.”

“Ggnmg…”

“Thaaaaat’s it, you can do it. That almost sounded like a human voice. You can get there…”

“Ggkuh…buh…” Somehow, Shuichi forced his mouth to stop gaping like a fish’s. His throat felt dry and layered with spikes as he squished the air up and out, forming the impossible syllables with his quivering tongue. “You… We… We’re here to…for me to…feed you?”

“Of course!” Kokichi looked unaffected, but the patches below his eyes and the edges of his ears looked a little bit pink…or maybe that was just the residual lighting. “It’s time for you serve me, subordinate. So go on and serve me. I’ll wait riiiiight here and enjoy my alone time while you go get my dinner. I sure hope you have a nice dinner planned for me!”

Shuichi spluttered a bit more, to his amusement. His legs were suddenly wobbly, his palms sweaty. He pressed his hands to his knees, just to alleviate some of the suffocating warmth. “Shihshh…d-does…s-so does this mean you’re…okay with it? I-Is that what this means? You…y-you want me to…? You planned on doing this, so…?”

“Whoa, don’t get ahead of yourself, you slut. I’m just hungry. And lazy. And it’s so simple to use you for things like this.”

_No. No, I…I know._ It was too late. At this point, Shuichi was becoming so used to Kokichi’s patterns, the ways he expressed himself, even if he’d never wanted him to. He was backpedaling—using a biting insult to distract him. The evidence stacked against his frail statements was too weighty. He wanted this. He wanted this…and perhaps…he always had.

The part of Shuichi’s heart that been falling to pieces re-formed…and its pulsating, embarrassed warmth changed to the warmth of wondrous awe and affection. “Alright.” He had no idea what he was going to do, exactly, but his soul had already made up its mind. “I will. I’ll be right back.”

There was no more wavering anxiety in his voice or in his nerves. He knew. He could hear Kokichi loud and clear. And he was silently rejoicing.

“Don’t go anywhere!” And all the accumulated energy in his body rolled forth, pushing him forward, throwing himself through the door and jogging down the hall. _He wants me to feed him. He wants me to feed him. He wants me to feed him!_

Even if this turned out to be one of the last days of his life…Shuichi was certain this was one of the greatest moments he’d ever lived.

\---

There was no time to go all the way back to the dining hall. Where was he going to get food from? Surprisingly, it only took Shuichi a few moments to think of it.

There was a small restaurant/bar attached to the casino. No one had ever actually eaten there, but he was sure it was operational. The Monokubs had used it to film a cooking show for one of their morning announcements. And that was right next door.

Plus, as luck would have it, a few of the multicolored bears were already hanging out there when Shuichi burst through the door, practically slamming his hands against the counter.

“Whoa, whoa, where’s the fire?! There’d better be a fire!” Monokid nearly toppled out of one of the barstools when he careened into the side of the bar.

“Oh! Good evening, Shuichi!” Monophanie was sitting on the counter, and turned to him with a happy expression. “Do you need anything from us? We’d be happy to assist you in your romantic pursuits!”

“Yeah, we’re just forcin’ Monodam to grill us up some meat!” Monokid wobbled back up into the stool, a bit of drool seeping out of his robotic mouth. “And he better hurry the hell up, or I’m gonna be grillin’ _him_ up instead!”

“Oh, no, that’s too cruel!” Monophanie cried. “… _Could_ we even eat him, though?”

“It’s worth a shot!”

“That’s perfect,” Shuichi huffed out his breath. “Uh, not the grilling Monodam thing, but…if you’re making dinner…” Before they could launch into some other distracting chatter, Shuichi composed himself, standing up straight to make his declaration, his request. “I need food. Maybe a three-course meal. With dessert. As soon as possible.”

“Oh!” Monophanie’s eyes lit up, and unfortunately, she probably knew exactly why and what for. “Of course! Anything that you need! Monodam!”

From a door in the back, the green Monokub appeared, wearing a chef’s hat over his bolted ears and staring blankly up at Shuichi. “YOU CALLED?”

“Shuichi here needs to make an order! It’s for his super-romantic, intimate date night with Kokichi!”

_Did she have to say it like that?!_ Thank God none of his classmates were around.

“IF IT WILL HELP YOU GET ALONG EVEN BETTER, I WILL MAKE ANYTHING YOU WISH.”

“Please, go on and check our menu!” Monophanie pulled out a sheet of loose-leaf paper with a list of dishes and shoddily-drawn illustrations on the sides.

Shuichi was immediately worried…but then again, the Kubs wouldn’t do anything to harm the students directly, so he should feel assured that the food wouldn’t be rotten or poisoned or anything. It took him a few minutes to pick out things he thought Kokichi might like, and it disgusted him how shivery he felt inside as he placed the order for each dish.

Undeniably, it was the excited anticipation of getting him to eat these dishes…but then, there was no guarantee he’d actually eat them. There was no guarantee Kokichi would even _be_ there in the hotel room by the time he returned. Sure, he’d needed his help to get inside, but it wasn’t impossible that he’d have some sort of secret exit strategy. In fact, it was highly likely that he did.

While Monodam shuffled back to the kitchen and began cooking up a storm, Shuichi took a seat in one of the stools and shut his eyes. He could hear Monophanie and Monokid arguing about something, but their words were mere background noise. He had to reassure himself, again and again… _I have a feeding fetish. And Kokichi has accepted it. It’s okay. It’s going to be okay. I’m not disgusting. This isn’t disgusting. I’m going to…help him. I’m going to give him a good meal, no matter what. He’s going to have such a good dinner…_

Before his nerves could start up their puttering, a voice cut through his thoughts, much sooner than he’d anticipated.

“DINNER IS SERVED. DINNER IS SERVED. DINNER IS SERVED.” Monodam hopped up on a stepladder and slid three packages down the counter, bumping into Shuichi’s elbow.

“A-Already?” They must have had some of these dishes pre-made.

“He’s gonna make his little wimpy boyfriend puke.”

“Oh, nonsense! Shuichi is a gentle soul. That’s why we all love him so much!”

Shuichi stammered out his thanks and tried his best to ignore them as Monophanie wished him “good luck” and Monokid told him to “have fun with himself”. Nevertheless…

As he balanced the three cumbersome boxes in his arms, he couldn’t help allowing the thrill to run through him. _Kokichi…I don’t know if this is another test…but I’m going to be honest with you. I’m going to show you my feelings, but I’m not going to hurt you. Please…continue to show me your feelings, too_.

\---

It was a minor miracle that Kokichi was actually still there. He smirked at the sight of Shuichi struggling in the door with his three dinner boxes, but made no motion to help in the slightest. He was toying with the bureau drawers, twisting off all their knobs and forming a pile of them on top of the desk. “Ah, finally! I was about to start tearing the wallpaper off, I was so freakin’ bored.”

“I’m…a little impressed that you didn’t bail out on this, actually.”

“Yeah, I _was_ thinking of jumping out the window if you didn’t arrive in another two minutes.”

_This is the second story! If it didn’t kill him, he’d definitely break some of his bones._

“So, so? Come up and show me what you got!” Kokichi leapt onto the bed, patting it as an invitation for Shuichi to join him. “If it’s not good enough for me, I’ll make _you_ jump out the window instead!”

Shuichi gave a hollow laugh. Even though he knew the threat was empty, he was still genuinely worried about whether he’d like it or not. As he lowered himself and the boxes onto the bed, he tried to pretend that this was just another friendly meeting, like their drawing session on the floor of Kokichi’s room yesterday. God, he was so anxious about this, but oh so, so thrilled, from the tips of his cheekbones to the ends of his toes.

_The most important thing, whether he truly shares in my…kink thing or not is…that he’s eating. He’s going to eat. And he desperately, desperately needs it._

“I-I’ll have a few of these myself, you know,” Shuichi prefaced, before opening the boxes. “So it’s not like I got _all_ of this for just you…”

“What?! How dare you think about yourself and not fill your mind with thoughts of only me?!” Kokichi put on a huffy face that was kind of cute—like a petulant child. “As my official feeder, you’re not supposed to feed yourself, too. Another year on your desert mining sentence.”

“Ahaha…” Oh, God… “official feeder”? Kokichi was coming on so strongly, it was hard to believe it _wasn’t_ a lie…that he wasn’t just doing this to poke fun at him. Sure, he enjoyed an elaborate joke, but…this was just too much. There were plenty of other ways he could have embarrassed him…and in this private spot, no one else would be here to witness the humiliation.

“…I bet that’s what you want me to say, huh?” And there it was. The sly smirk was back in place, purple eyes flashing from behind long purple bangs. “I bet you want me to eat _everything_ you brought, ‘til I’m just about ready to burst, huh? You wanna squish it into my mouth and watch me moan and burp as my stomach fills and fills… I know that’s what you want, Shumai.”

Shuichi’s teeth clenched. He was _trying_ to fluster him. He _wanted_ him to freak out and shy away and turn into a sweaty, mushy blob. He _expected_ it. So even though his cheeks reflexively prickled, he steeled himself…and didn’t let him.

“Yes.” His voice sounded so much more confident and shameless than he felt. “I do. It’s true. I want to feed you…as much as I can. And you won’t ever tell me how you feel about it, but…I want to help you most of all. I want to fill you up, because you’re empty. And that’s just what we’re going to do.”

For just a second, Kokichi’s grin faded. But the split-second expression seemed softer—not happy, but not upset. Surely, his mind was moving at lightning speed as well, and Shuichi just wished he could hear a snatch of those thoughts again.

“Ohhhh. Impressive, Shuichi. You’re finally owning up to it. You’re a real man, now.”

“Uh…thanks?”

“Y’know what?” Kokichi leaned a little closer, almost whispering. “I don’t need to know what you got for me. Surprise me. Surprises are the best. Like when you find a knife in your shoe in the morning, or when your mom walks in while you’re looking at internet porn. Delightful.”

_I hope you’re not speaking from experience._

“C’mooooon, you feeder—feed me!” Kokichi whined…and all of a sudden, he grabbed Shuichi’s hand, placing it firmly right over his upper belly, below the point of his re-affixed bandanna. “I’m so _hungry_! You feel that, right? That _grrrrumble_? So hungry…I skipped out on lunch again for this, you know.”

Shuichi tightly frowned. “Don’t skip lunch. Even if it’s ‘for me’ or whatever. Just don’t.”

“Aww, but don’t you want me extra-super-hungry for when you stuff me senseless?”

There was a little dip in Shuichi’s heart when, underneath his hand, which was still being held in place, he felt a tiny rolling vibration. A physical complaint from Kokichi’s empty stomach…so gnawing, so barren, withering into nothingness inside. With a tiny flex, Shuichi’s fingers brushed over the white fabric caressing his skin, just above that little, rumbling, desperate belly.

“I want you to not be like this.” His eyebrows pinched with sorrow. “I want you…to never be as hungry as this again. I don’t care about “fitting more in you”. I don’t want to see you like this. It…it hurts.”

Kokichi…his poor body had been in this state too many times before, and it never deserved this neglect. Never, never, ever… _If I had it my way…he’d never have to go hungry like this again. He’d never want to starve himself like this again. He’d enjoy his meals and clean his plate and indulge in a few desserts every now and then. He’d never leave this poor belly gnawing at its own flesh walls, crying out for attention._

There was a silent, contemplative pause. For a sacred moment, Kokichi just sat still, blankly watching the tiny movements of Shuichi’s fingers against his stomach.

“…Well, then, you’d best get started, shouldn’t you?”

“Y-yes…” Still not quite believing this was reality, Shuichi gently pried his hand out of his grasp…and opened up the first box.

These were the sort-of “appetizers” before the main course, though he would be having a few of them himself. The first box contained four little buns of melon bread and a mound of fried spring rolls, perfect little crunchy wraps of veggies. Honestly, he expected that Kokichi wouldn’t be too crazy about them, but…he had to get some manner of vegetable into him.

“We’ll…start with these,” Shuichi awkwardly announced, filling his palm with a melon bun.

Kokichi stayed rooted in place, just smiling mysteriously, waiting… He wanted it…he _wanted_ it… And Shuichi had finally convinced himself.

Urgently, he reached forward…and pressed the squishy, soft bread straight up against his lips.

Reflexively, his heart quavered. Even though this was the third time he’d done this…feeding him directly from his hand…it just felt so, so intimate, almost as if he’d just kissed him. He _knew_ why it felt so affectionate to him…it was a part of his brain wired to associate feeding with love. But still…

Kokichi made a muffled little “meeheehee”…and fitted his teeth around the spongy surface of the bun, fluttering his eyes closed as he finally bit down.

_He’s really drawing this out_ , Shuichi thought, with a slight annoyance, knowing that he was only acting this way to taunt him. Nervously impatient, Shuichi took another bun and began to eat it himself. It was soft and sweet with just a little tang. Pretty good, he had to admit.

As soon as Kokichi swallowed his first bite, Shuichi was instantly pressing the next one into his mouth, and he nearly choked on his own amused laughter. It was wonderful…and Shuichi couldn’t help allowing his heart to glow with joy and gladness.

The way Kokichi was leaning slightly forward, his legs tucked under him, smiling through his faintly puffed, full cheeks. _It’s…cute. He’s…so cute…like this. Wow, it’s adorable…_ Shuichi wrenched his head away. He always felt like that…it was just a part of his kinky attraction, though, right? The happiness at seeing him eat… Right?

“How is it? Is it good?” The casual question sort of fell out of him once Kokichi had swallowed his next bite, less than half of the first bun remaining now.

“Hmmmm, let’s see…” Kokichi tilted his head, his eyes shifting thoughtfully to the side. “…Nah, I can’t even lie about it, these are pretty good. Wow, look at that! You’ve discovered the cure for my compulsive lying disorder! I’m never going to lie again!”

With a weak chuckle, Shuichi pushed the end of the bun to his smirking lips, a few crumbs flaking off the end and bouncing onto his bandanna. “It looks like you’re already infected again.”

“Mmmm, ish yummyyy.”

Shuichi had to restrain his mirthful giggles as he continued to munch the bread down. He unceremoniously finished his own bun, and concentrated his senses on Kokichi, on the image of his at least seemingly delighted expression. And the knowledge, the thought, the mental picture of his suffering, empty little belly being gently soothed and appeased…like applying a gentle healing salve to his wound.

Throughout the slow consumption of the second bun, he kept making quips about how it was going to “cleanse his rotten mouth”, and also about how Shuichi was being “such a good feeder slave”, which set Shuichi ablaze again.

_Stop calling me a “feeder”,_ he mentally pleaded. His image of that concept wasn’t quite pleasant, and he didn’t want to think of himself as one.

At long last, Kokichi had finished his two buns, and Shuichi his. Out of curiosity, Shuichi sneaked his arm forward and felt at the surface of Kokichi’s belly again, very lightly rubbing between the buttons. Ah…yes, good. He couldn’t feel the heartbreaking trembles of hunger anymore. It was all settled in there, gnawing away at the absorbing bread…though it still felt fairly empty.

The inevitable snickers came again, causing the thin flesh under Shuichi’s hand to shudder. “Oooh, lookit you, getting so bold and handsy. Are we sure you weren’t affected by those aphrodisiacs on the first level?”

“I’m sure,” Shuichi’s voice was as firm as he could make it. Even if it had just been a joke, he needed Kokichi to know that this was entirely his own mind, his own will. “I’m just checking up on you.”

“Checking on my tummy, you mean. I get it.” Kokichi actually leaned further back, allowing him a larger area to press his hand against. “Cause I could lie to you all I want about how it’s doing. I could whine and say that I’m completely full right now, even though I _am_ still a little bit hungry. But the actual state of my tummy can’t lie. Bodies don’t lie.” His pallid face gazed back at him, an unreadable expression on it. “A detective through and through, even when you’re doing kinky shit, huh, Shumai?”

“Aha…I guess so. I never even thought of that.” Shuichi gingerly pulled away again, his fingers dropping to pick at the bedsheets.

“You can’t hide who you are anymore.”

That statement might have been meant to rile him up, but Shuichi found it strangely…comforting. Another reassurance that…this was him. This was who he was. A detective with a proclivity for feeding. It was out in the open, he’d accepted it…and it was okay.

“So, so, you gonna feed me some more? I just admitted that I’m still a little hungry, and you didn’t go all weak in the knees.”

_Because we’re…having a good time_. Shuichi secretly smiled a little.

“Okay!” He lifted his head with determination, the end of his stray piece of hair bobbing. “These spring rolls are next. You asked for it.”

“Whoooo!” Kokichi gave an obviously fake cheer. “Shuichi has levelled up! Shuichi is now a _mega_ -slut!”

Stubbornly, Shuichi refused to listen to him, shoving his hand back into the box and grasping one of the flaky, veggie-stuffed rolls.

“Ahahaha! Nice! I bet the viewers are eating this up! Pun definitely intended!”

The reminder that they were being monitored didn’t help. Shuichi silenced him with a crunchy roll, shoving it directly into his open mouth, and he squeaked with laughter around the edges. Was he…enjoying the more forceful aspect of this? Or was that just another farce?

Nevertheless, Kokichi gripped the end of the roll and munched, munched, munched, almost as if pushing it slowly into himself, bit by bit. It shortened and shortened and at last the very end popped in past his lips. Once it was all down, he licked the lingering crumbs from the corners of his mouth and looked back to Shuichi, expectantly.

And Shuichi was ready and waiting with the next…only this time, he held on, carefully sliding as much of the roll into Kokichi’s mouth as would fit…it was about half. He groaned and mumbled complaining noises, but he managed to work his cheeks and jaw around the sizeable chunk, beginning the laborious process of chewing it up and swallowing it down. It took quite a while, and Shuichi delicately chewed on a roll of his own.

It was so peaceful…he felt the uncertainty in his chest easing, just listening to the soft little crunches and smacks of Kokichi’s consumption. It was one of his favorite sounds in the world, and he could no longer deny it, though it still felt scandalous to admit.

“How are these?” He questioned, once he noticed him at the end of it. “I thought you might not like them.”

“Mm…s’true.  They’re pretty disgusting.”

“From the look on your face, I’d say that’s a lie.”

“Faces can lie, though.” Kokichi pursed his lips a bit as he swallowed the last piece. “In fact, I’d say faces are some of the least trustworthy things in this world.”

“I know.” Shuichi squished the second half to his lips, feeling the light pressure at his fingertips when he bit in. “But I want to believe that you like it, and maybe if I wish hard enough, it’ll become the truth.”

“Mmm-hmm-mm-mm.” Kokichi only vaguely mumbled through his delightfully full mouth, but at least it sounded like an agreement.

There were six spring rolls in total. Shuichi ate two of them himself, finishing off his own dinner, and the other four…gradually, lovingly, caringly, by his hands and by Kokichi’s own hands…found their way into Kokichi’s stomach.

By now, after all these experiences…Shuichi was coming to understand his own psychology. It made sense, in a twisted sort of way. Feeding was an especially intimate interaction. Taking a piece of food—an item designed to nourish the body, please the senses—and setting it on its way into that body… Oh, it was just so wonderful, so, so wonderful. And Shuichi allowed these feelings to take hold of him, all of him awash in jubilation. The first box had been entirely emptied into the two of them. And then…it happened.

“ _Brrmp_! _Phoo_! That’s better!”

Shuichi’s eyes snapped over at the sound, his fingers giving a little twitch. Another toothy grin spread across Kokichi’s face as leaned further back into the mattress and shifted his legs, stretching them out.

“Oh, hey, does burping get you going, too?” With that, he suddenly sucked in a big breath, and his torso pulsed for a second as he apparently brought it through him. “ _Urrrrrp_!” The resulting belch was much deeper compared to the first, genuine one. “Nyeeheeheehee! Was that super sexy to you, you freak?”

“Um…a little?” Shuichi answered honestly, and was surprised by the lack of shame tearing in at him. He really was getting used to this, somehow… _It’s not really the burping itself…or the volume or anything. It’s just…what it means._ It was the bodily signal. His belly was full enough that it had to expel its extra air in order to make more room. A very obvious signal from his stomach that it was satisfied. And _that_ …that was just a little bit sexy, yeah.

“If I had some soda, I could go even louder,” Kokichi offered. “Speaking of which, where _is_ the soda, anyway? You had _better_ have some freakin’ sody pop for me.”

“Uh, well…” Shuichi awkwardly slipped his hand into one of the other boxes, extracting a can from it. “They only had one can of the purple stuff you like, so…we’ll have to conserve it.”

He punched open the top of the can, waiting for its fizz to settle a bit, before lifting it to Kokichi’s mouth and letting him take several sips. Another burp popped out of him when he pulled away, stimulated by the carbonation, but it was quieter and more…cutesy.

“Ahhhh, welp…” Kokichi glanced downward…and gave his middle a brief pat. “I’m full. But it looks like I’m about to get a lot fuller, cause that was only the first course, huh?”

“Y-Yeah…” Shuichi felt himself jitter. “I’ve got another course for you and then dessert. If you…feel up to it, of course.”

“A course is a course, of course, of course,” Kokichi sing-songed. “And no one can stop the next course, of course! But fiiiirst…”

Shuichi raised a curious eyebrow as he began to shift and twist his body around… He was lifting his arms, ducking his head and…shimmying his arms down through his sleeves, pulling upwards, tugging the whole thing up. And then off. He casually crumpled his own shirt/coat and bandanna combo in his hands and deposited it at the foot of the bed, as if this were the most natural thing in the world.

“…Let me get a little more comfortable.”

“Ah…” Shuichi had to keep himself from gaping, though his eyes were naturally roaming his bare torso.

“Yyyup, congratulations, Shumai, your dreams are coming true!” A darkness passed over Kokichi’s face, a stark contrast to how very, very pale his skin was. “Though who knows what’ll happen to you after this? No one has ever seen me shirtless and lived for another twenty-four hours afterwards. In fact, the last guy who saw me like this…had already been marked for death.”

_That has to be a lie. But it’s oddly specific…in a weird way._ And Shuichi was far, far too distracted to put his full brainpower into it.

Kokichi’s skin was so _white_ , and…he could see the little bumps and indentations of his ribcage, to his own chagrin. Thin, thin, narrow arms… But the first place Shuichi’s eyes had been drawn to was probably the least likely spot anyone else would look.

Kokichi’s bellybutton. It was shallow—not quite an outie, but not poking far enough inward to look quite “normal”. It might have just been due to his lack of body fat, but in any case, it was kind of…cute. Shuichi just barely reeled himself back from reaching out and gently nudging it with his fingertip. Tenderly pushing the little fleshy button, finding out what it did, what reaction he would get. But not now. No, no, not now.

Instead, Shuichi slid his arm forward and brushed his fingers over his upper belly again, just where the ridges of his ribs disappeared. _Oh…_ A warm wave passed up through his arm, straight into the rest of him. _There it is._

It hadn’t been noticeable at all, but…the shape of that belly had begun to change, by a miniscule amount. It was flat, instead of poking inwards from starvation. The tiny interior curve of his stomach poked back at his fingers where he gingerly pressed. Filled. The sorrowful, empty, neglected sack now filled to a satisfactory level. So good. So, so good.

Kokichi giggled a bit more this time, perhaps a bit more sensitive with Shuichi’s fingers connecting with his bare skin. “Yup, yup, it’s true! I’m getting full! Well, I _am_ full, but I’m not _stuffed_ , and you want me stuffed like a holiday turkey, don’t you?”

“Uh…ahh…” Consumed with nearly delirious delight, Shuichi felt his chest, his face prickle and burn. He could barely form words—everything happening right now was just too incredible. “It, ah…it certainly feels like…you’ve got a bit more room. S-So…so we should…so I want to…”

“Keep filling it up _alllllll_ the way to the brim? I gotcha. I’ll try not to hurl on these luxury bedsheets.”

The word _hurl_ finally burst Shuichi out of his bubble of bliss. Just last night…that horrible, heart-rending retching, the sickly, withering look in his whole body… Was this really okay? Was it really okay to be doing this to his poor stomach so soon after it had been so extremely upset? Was…was Kokichi trying to sacrifice his own comfort and well-being for his enjoyment?

“Kokichi...” He softly spoke his name, as he let his fingers ghost over his middle one last time for now.

Oddly enough, he seemed to notice the hesitation and worry in his voice and something… _softened_ in his demeanor. It would have been a challenge to describe the difference to anyone else, but Shuichi could just detect it. The tiniest little quiver went through Kokichi’s bony little shoulders. The faintest shade of rose pink had appeared at his not-quite-as-bony cheeks. He would never say it. He would never be able to do what Shuichi himself had accomplished. But right now, Shuichi could read it, feel it in his heart that had become inexplicably connected to this dishonest prankster’s.

“Okay.” Responding to the unspoken admission…his hands tripped over to the second box. “Here we go.”

Inside was a personal pizza, dotted with round pepperoni and glistening with cheese. It wasn’t too big, but it was enough to make a meal out of…a _second_ meal, on top of the meal he’d already had. Kokichi slightly squirmed when the heavy, cheesy aroma hit his nose, and that was frankly adorable.

“I wasn’t sure what your favorite topping was, so I figured pepperoni would be good enough.”

“Nope, not good enough. Take it back. I need anchovies and pickles.”

Shuichi sat up on his knees and carefully separated out the first slice—a small slice, about two-thirds the size of a normal pizza slice, but there were eight of them altogether. “Ahaha. I never took you for an anchovy person, though I know you have some weird tastes.” He lifted the slice delicately…and let its pointed tip dangle down, right into Kokichi’s awaiting mouth.

“Mmf…cause…dat wash a lie. My _faaaaavorite_ is ashually…” When he swallowed, his eyes pinched up, mouth thinning into that ominous, crazed, threatening smile, just a step less freaky from the one that had made Shuichi want to scream. “… _Pineapple_.”

“My God…you truly are the devil.”

“Nyeeheehee! I _am_ the world’s evil supreme ruler, after all.”

Shuichi found himself laughing with a lightened heart as he caringly fed Kokichi the remainder of the first slice. Maybe…Kokichi had done that on purpose. But either way, he was more relaxed now, ready to resume this strange little feeding escapade.

Slowly…the second slice went in, and Shuichi pulled out one of the napkins stacked at the side of the box to wipe his greasy fingers on…though they were just going to get greased up again.

Another spontaneous little burp of indigestion popped out of Kokichi, trying to make more room. He quickly patted his own stomach as if telling it to settle down…but then opened up for the next slice that Shuichi squished into his mouth. He hummed and chewed and opened up again and hummed and chewed… Shuichi spared him from having to eat the crusts, too, but by the time half the pizza had disappeared, he whined that his mouth was all dry, and he tipped the soda can to his lips once more.

“ _Haaaah_ , _brp_. Alright. We’re getting somewhere.” And that was when Shuichi saw it…of course, he noticed.

He literally could not keep both his hands from resting themselves, fondly, curiously, right over Kokichi’s belly. Above his bellybutton…he could feel it clear as ever…it was beginning to bulge. A subtle, convex little curve pushing into Shuichi’s fingers, firmly filled. With the utmost care, he tenderly plied at it, evaluating its tight little bubble, testing its remaining elasticity. Oh, God…God, this was the most adorable thing he’d ever seen or felt. He didn’t ever want to take his hands off of it.

“You’re doing so well, Kokichi…” Shuichi heard himself whisper before he even thought it out. “You’re really…filling up well…”

Suddenly, lithe fingers were in his hair, rustling affectionately…and Shuichi felt that he could just die right here and now, in utter bliss.

“Heehee…it’s all thanks to you.”

_More._ There was a burning, craving desire within Shuichi’s body, ignited by Kokichi’s expression of some vague possibility of love. “Good…good, good…” He was sure his face was positively fuchsia with warm, searing desire…but Kokichi’s face was looking a bit rosier as well. “Eat up… Go on, eat up, Kokichi…” And he was holding the next slice in place, feeling the fluttering, the thrilling, intoxicating pulses of fixating adrenaline running through his system as Kokichi’s teeth sunk into the gooey, warm, spicy, cheesy goodness.

Another bite…another…another slice finished off. Kokichi burped a little more frequently, though it was subdued, soft…carefully shifting his contents and making space for more, even if it seemed like there was none.

The final pair of slices remained, and as they decadently squished down into Kokichi’s slender throat, Shuichi began to use his free hand to caress that over-filling little tummy. Each dollop of doughy, saucy pizza slipping inside…another parcel of warm, bolstering food… it was oh so wondrous to him. And…the tiny curve bit by bit, millimeter by millimeter, curving, rounding out further. Feeling every contour as it gradually, gradually swelled with overindulgence.

At last, the second box was nothing but an empty container, littered with errant crumbs, discarded crusts, and smears of dribbled tomato sauce. All of it…resting snugly in dear Kokichi’s little stretched tummy now.

“All done,” Shuichi announced, in a hushed, amorous tone that he would’ve been surprised to hear from himself. “Alllllll gone. You did such a good job.”

“Oooooff. Ah. _Hic_!” Kokichi gingerly shuffled himself, perhaps feeling a bit heavier with the weight of two full meals inside him. “Nyeeheeheehee! Y-yeah, I’m preeeetttty stuffed.”

With a flushed grin, his fingers drummed at the top, tight curve of his belly. His eyes gazed down at it, then trailed over to catch Shuichi’s eyes, and laughed at his expression. “You’re so weird, Shumai. You’re disgusting and weird. But I happen to be disgusting and weird, too.” And that was the best, most heartfelt confession he was ever going to get.

“Ugh. But we still have dessert left, right?” Kokichi awkwardly scooted himself backwards, trying not to disturb the heavy mass already inside him. “I’m gonna need a few adjustments.”

Firstly, he removed his belt, which was starting to pinch in at the lower curving portion of his belly, and then, he ordered Shuichi to pile the bed’s pillows up at the headboard. “ _Haaahhh_ …” Kokichi gave a titillating, breathy sigh of relief when he lowered himself onto the pillows, reclining and stretching out his legs. Shuichi removed his shoes for him and fretted over the pillows, making sure they were comfy and fluffy enough. Tugging the covers off, he bunched them up under Kokichi’s feet for even greater support.

“Well, you may be a gross feeder, but no one can say you don’t spoil me,” Kokichi admitted, adjusting his feet and getting comfortable in his new, cushioned position.

“…And I’m going to spoil you even more.” Hearing his own heartbeat in his ears, Shuichi gave the little raised bump of Kokichi’s belly a loving pat…and opened the final box.

As soon as Kokichi laid eyes on it, he squirmed again, and Shuichi’s own chest was bubbling mirthfully at his eagerness. This was the crowning jewel, the shining finishing touch, and he couldn’t help but feel kind of proud of his selection. One entire half of a sinfully thick, rich, oozing chocolate cream pie, smothered in smooth frosting and overstuffed with creamy deliciousness.

“Oh…oh, hell yes.” Kokichi licked at his lips, clearing the last leftover residue of pizza grease and smoothed his hands over his equally stuffed little belly, which was grumbling slightly at the prospect of more food. He demanded the rest of the soda can first, and Shuichi was more than happy to oblige.

“You can do it,” he urged him on as he prepared to lift out the first piece, and he gave a shallow laugh.

“Oh, I definitely can. Cause I want all of that.”

“How greedy.”

“It’s only fitting for my position, yes? You’re serving me well tonight.”

“ _Very_ well,” Shuichi agreed…and gently lowered the first big bite on the end of a fork, to his greedy little mouth.

It was taking Kokichi longer to chew and swallow, since he was so very full already. But the absolutely blissful, ecstatic look on his face as he closed his eyes and savored each chocolatey nibble was well worth the labored pace. He moaned around nearly every mouthful, achy and tight and melting at the taste oversaturating his taste buds. _God_ , it was so amazing.

Shuichi’s hands wandered…lovingly brushing back locks of Kokichi’s messy hair, dabbing away the little smears of chocolate and cream on his cheeks, symptoms of his thrilled overindulgence…and of course, fondling his lethargically, laboriously swelling little belly.

Reclining like this, tipping back and allowing him a greater view…it was even more visible, gently protruding from his rail-thing frame, mounding up higher…rounder… The pie was gradually depositing into him, and he was entering a hazed state of sleepy, decadent overindulgence.

“Ehee…hee... _hlp_!” Kokichi looked down to his own bloated form, swipes of chocolate once again rimming his mouth from where the last piece of pie had pressed inside. “I bet you’re loving this, Shumai. N-Nah, I know you’re lovin’ this. Nyeehee…lookit how big and round I am.”

“Shhhhh,” Shuichi only hushed him, presenting the second-to-last piece. “Shh-shhhhh…”

And the rest of it… It was all a dream, a misty cloud of lavished bliss. Had this even happened? Shuichi would never be fully sure. All he could recall was awakening to the groany, pained hiccup sounding below him…and a box that had once held a heavy, tempting, calorie-rich pie now a messy, empty, crumby carton.

“Ohhhhhh, gosh… Oh, geez…” And then…and then there was _Kokichi_.

Oh gosh…oh wow…oh gosh, oh gosh…

“A-A-Are you…alright?”

“Nyeehee _hlp_! N-Never…better.” His voice was somewhat winded, the effort of getting down those last few bites evident in the round patches of red on his cheeks. “Phewww. Ah…we’re done now, right?”

“Yes, yes, we’re definitely done.”

So…round…puffing up…in a little rotund mound…the size of a little soccer ball. Smooth and firm at the surface…pressing, popping up with the double-sized meal, the extravagant dessert…

With shaking hands, Shuichi tore himself away, forcing himself to gather up the emptied boxes—all of them emptied into that sweet tummy!—and piling them into the trash can. They didn’t all fit, even when squished, so he’d had to leave one on top of the desk.

Meanwhile, Kokichi took a moment to catch his breath and ease his turbulent digestion, getting his hiccupping under control. Those soft, breathy little hiccups were adorable, though, and Shuichi would honesty love nothing more than to just rub tiny, tender circles into him, calming the taut, uncomfortable bubbles.

A few minutes later, he returned, seating himself gently at Kokichi’s side…and allowed himself a full view at last. Kokichi was limply clutching at it with one hand, but everything was still very, very visible. _Oh gosh…oh wow…oh, gosh, oh gosh… Kokichi’s tummy…oh gosh, Kokichi’s tummy..._

It was frankly, honestly…the most adorable and most _magnetic_ thing Shuichi had ever laid eyes on. That little pouch, so, so happily full… Kokichi…so, so replete. Brimming with repletion. He couldn’t help reaching down, fitting his palm over the convex curve, firm and ripe, like a little melon, and holding warmth there, tenderly stroking the upper part with his thumb. Kokichi whispered a giggle, and his cheeks glowed with flushed warmth. The very center, the very core of his body…this dear little belly, housing an abundance of soothing nourishment. So, so well nourished.

Kokichi shuddered with yet another little hiccup, and Shuichi tenderly patted over the peak of his bellybutton, as if appeasing it. He rested his fingertip, with the lightest possible touch, briefly on that little bellybutton nub, stretched tighter by his expanded stomach. Extra, super sensitive, the tip of the overinflated balloon. Another reassuring little pat.

“Don’t you dare lose this,” Shuichi spoke, almost to himself. “You will _not_ lose this.”

“I-Is that an order? Are you trying to give _me_ an order?” Kokichi did his best to sneer, through his blushy, sweaty face. “Remember your station, subordinate.”

“Alright then…” Shuichi lowered his head…so close, until his nose was almost touching that snowy, taut skin. His hands lovingly curled up over the round little ball of that belly, warm, gentle rubs all around. “Kokichi’s tummy…listen to me. You’re going to digest Kokichi’s big dinner for him…you’re not going to give him any nausea or sickness…nice and easy, now. You’re going to send it all on its way to nourish him. No rush…just slow and gentle, okay?”

Kokichi’s grin was sort of lopsided and woozy as he settled further back into the mountain of pillows, tufts of hair bunching over his ears, but he looked…satisfied. So satisfied. “Wow. N-Now you’re even chatting with my internal organs. Can you be any _more_ of a freak?”

“Probably.” Shuichi shut his eyes for a moment and just savored the feeling of the warm, firm, soundlessly gurgling little tummy ball in his hands.

And then, without even a question or a warning, he began to rub… Rubbing, rubbing, around and around…on the wider, bulgy sides, on the skin just above the bellybutton, on the delicate base, near his ribs. The skin itself seemed a little bit flushed as well, as he worked his fingers over it, soothing the monumental task of digestion. After a few good minutes, Shuichi tried applying a miniscule amount of pressure—a massaging belly rub—and Kokichi let out an involuntary little moan.

“Haha. Does that feel good?” There was no reply, so he took that to mean “yes”.

So Shuichi just continued and continued… God, he could go on all night. His hands were magnetically stuck to his middle, and he was overjoyed to let them stay there forever.

And for that entire unknowable amount of time, Kokichi didn’t even speak. He moaned with the pleasure of his achiness being soothed, he gave a few little whines…and a few strained little burps…but no words. It seemed he was finally completely subdued, and that was wondrous in itself.

The peaceful silence was broken when he at last found them again. “God…I’m huge. I’m gonna be so fat tomorrow morning, you’re gonna have to roll me out of bed. Wouldn’t you love that.”

“I’d love it if, when you woke up tomorrow, you were just a bit less of a skeleton.”

“Aww…but then I can’t be spooky and scary anymore.”

“Oh, believe me…you’d still be terrifying, no matter what size or shape you were.”

“Phew. That’s a relief.”

Reluctantly and strenuously, Kokichi began to shift and awkwardly pull himself up, almost rolling forward already. He enlisted help from Shuichi to drag himself to the edge of the bed and haul himself up onto his feet. And Shuichi had to willfully hold in his chuckling as he watched him carefully waddle his way to the bathroom.

With his temporary disappearance, Shuichi gradually began to come down from this intense high of fetish fulfillment. Thinking about it now, it all felt so _surreal_. This was some sort of crazy fantasy, right? Kokichi would never actually enjoy being fed, would never eat so much just for him… But when he returned from the bathroom, just as bloated and cumbersome as before, he was faced with its reality.

Groaning and complaining, Kokichi awkwardly laid himself down again, only he fully rolled flat onto his side, holding his tummy from below, as if easing it into position. His eyelids fluttered, struggling to remain open, and his head nuzzled into the embrace of a few pillows.

Of course…he was heavy and weighted down now…and it was making him sleepy. The heaviness of his full belly was lulling him into a warm drowsiness, and it was so cute and so wonderful. He needed this rest so desperately…he’d needed this food so desperately…and Shuichi had provided, granting his little body the care it had needed so desperately.

Resigning himself to another night in bed beside him, Shuichi undressed as much as he felt comfortable and slid under the covers, pulling the soft, velvety comforter closer over the two of them. Kokichi seemed to like it, mumbling a soft “mm”, and nestling himself into the cushiony warmth.

“Kokichi…? Why…did you do this? Let me…indulge in my weird fetishes like this?”

“Hm. I told you.” His voice sounded slightly croaky with exhaustion. “I wanted to investigate.”

“But that was a lie.”

“Heh. Sorry. I lied again. I was definitely investigating.”

_Investigating what? ………Me?_ Perhaps… Kokichi has always been observing him and evaluating him, after all.

Heeding the urging of his heart, the gentle yearning of his soul, Shuichi moved himself closer. Closer…until his chest almost touched Kokichi’s back, until his face almost buried into his dark bushel of hair. He made no motion to shudder away…so he just held himself there.

From what he could see, Kokichi’s face had settled into that soft, relaxed expression again, all the tension leaving and floating away. It was so…serene right now. So comfortable and secure. Everything was so settled, so warmly hopeful.

Shuichi reached over with one arm…and cupped Kokichi’s round little overstuffed tummy in his palm one final time, lovingly encircling his bellybutton with a single finger before pulling away. He felt Kokichi’s internal chuckle against his chest—a little puff of breath. So comfy… And that was why…Shuichi felt free to express what was on his mind, the conclusion he’d finally come to.

“Kokichi…I’ve been thinking this for a while…”

“Hmm, yes?”

“…You’re a terrible liar.”

“………What?” Roused from his peaceful dozing, Kokichi craned his neck as far as he could to glare back at him. “ _Excuse_ me? How dare you insult my entire way of life—no, my entire _existence_ —like that?! How could you _do_ that?!” Puddles of reflective tears were forming below his eyes. “Lying is the only thing in my life I’m even any good at, and then you go and tell me that I suck?! You’re _awful_ , Shuichi!”

The tears were probably fake, but Shuichi took on a soft, explanatory tone, in case he really _had_ offended him. “Well, you see… Wouldn’t you agree that the purpose of lying is to deceive? To lie is to construct a false truth…and the whole point of telling a lie is to make someone else believe that falsehood. Right?”

Kokichi pouted, but the tears rolled away. “That is the basic gist of it, yes. You at least have a grasp on it.”

“Then why… One of the very first things you ever said to me, when we’d only just met, was that you were a liar. _Telling_ us you’re a liar would only cast doubts on you…it would make us suspect and question every single thing you said. You’d have no hope of getting _anyone_ to believe you. Well, except for someone especially gullible, like Gonta. A skilled liar wouldn’t have said anything. A real liar wouldn’t have given anyone any reason not to believe them. They would have gone on deceiving us for as long as they could. Which is why I say…you’re not a _real_ liar, Kokichi. Because a real liar would never call themselves a liar.”

For a silent moment, Kokichi was speechless. His head turned back around, concealing his face in his pillow. “Eehee… If…I’m not a liar, does that mean you believe everything I say?”

“No. But I know you’re not purposefully trying to deceive me. And you’re being honest with me, in whatever crazy roundabout way you do it. I… You’re not as bad a person as you say you are, Kokichi.”

“You…sure want to convince yourself I’m actually a kind, upstanding soul on the inside, huh? Wow, such desperation. Even after I did such a horrible thing to you last night. Are you a masochist as well, Shumai?”

_Does he…still feel guilty?_ The thought struck just as Shuichi was resting his head fully into his own pillow. _Is that part of why…?_ It had to be. This whole kinky endeavor…was his way of making up for it? It made him smile, laughter bubbling at his lungs. That was…oddly heartwarming. _Thank you. Thank you so very much, Kokichi._

“Shhh,” Shuichi soothingly hushed. His hand petted Kokichi’s rounded little side. “Just sleep. I’ll be right here. You need your rest.”

“Y-uh…mmf…” It sounded like he’d been about to respond, but changed his mind.

And together, they lapsed into silence.

Shuichi moved to retract his hand…but as soon as he did, another hand was seizing it, clamping bony fingers above his wrist. _Kokichi?_

Wordlessly, he extended it again, resuming the warm, soothing skin-to-skin contact, spreading his fingers to encompass more of his stomach this time. And his hand released, falling back to the mattress beside his head.

_Okay,_ Shuichi mentally resolved, wishing he could transmit this feeling, this thought directly to him, convey it with his tender touch. _I won’t back away. I’ll hold you all night long, if that’s what you want. I promise. I’ll keep it right here._ He rubbed reassuringly, barely moving his hand, but creating a tiny spot of warmth…and he felt rather than heard Kokichi sigh. Prefect. Absolutely perfect.

When Shuichi finally shut his eyes, it was to a world of calm serenity and fulfilment. And he prayed, hoped, wished with all his heart and soul…that it would stay just like this…

\---

_You’ve done it._ We’ve _done it. Finally. Finally, finally… Finally, you’ve done it. I… I can’t…even begin to express…how happy I am right now._

Shuichi was sitting up in bed, leaning back against the headboard and taking deep, gentle breaths. He’d woken to the sounds of scratching and soft banging, as the Monokubs broke their way into the hotel room, carting some sort of tray with them. It was 7AM, they announced, and they were here with their “complimentary morning-after breakfast”. He’d angrily snapped at them to keep quiet and that nothing like “that” had happened, even though a few of them snickered at him and told him he was in denial.

They’d left the tray behind—pancakes and muffins piled on a couple of plates, with silverware and napkins. But the most important thing…the most critical thing right now, and ever…was that they not wake Kokichi.

Yes…his little liar was still peacefully snoozing, tucked under the covers and snuggled back a bit closer into his side. For the first time…for the very first time, possibly for the first time in the past eight days…he’d slept fitfully through the night. No nightmares…no nausea and vomiting…just a calm, restful, comfy sleep. And Shuichi was so extremely glad, he was almost tearing up.

His hand was still resting around his middle, almost an embrace, and he leaned over just to get a look again. God, Kokichi’s sleeping face right now was just precious…so peaceful and unburdened…his breath falling in even, gentle fluctuations, forehead completely slack, lips just slightly parted. Was it…weird to think he was beautiful like this? Probably…kind of… But that thought never needed to leave Shuichi’s head. _Beautiful._ If only he could always be this way.

“Hmh…” A moment later, Kokichi began to stir, shifting his arms and tucking in his head, further mussing his already messy hair.

“Kokichi?” Shuichi quietly whispered…and he stirred a bit more, finally shuffling and dragging his body around, leaving his hand to fall down to the mattress. And finally, one wide purple eye winked open, staring up at him.

“I didn’t wake you up, did I?”

There was no response…but a lengthy, cheeky grin grew and spread over Kokichi’s face, completely breaking his soft serenity. _What? What is he snickering about now?_

And that’s when it hit him, like a truckload of bricks. Shuichi could see himself, see his own situation. He remembered everything that had happened last night. And his face exploded in a splotchy wash of red.

“W-what…what…what _is_ this?!”

“What is what?” But from the teasing lilt in his voice, Kokichi knew exactly what he meant. Sitting here in a queen bed, in a _love hotel_ , beside a half-naked Kokichi, who he’d just hand-fed to excess…

“ _This_!” Shuichi frantically waved his hand between the two of them, back and forth. “ _What is this_?!”

“I dunno,” Kokichi innocently chirped, ducking into the covers until only his face was showing. “What is it, huh? What do you want it to be?”

“Uh…” Shuichi’s cheeks and neck were literally pained with how hot his entire head felt. _Way to throw everything onto me! I can’t…! What am I even doing?!_ “I-I-I…I-I don’t…know…” Wow, he was an absolute mess. “Y-You’re my…y-y-you’re my friend, I…want to…b-be with you, ah…”

“Slow down there, loverboy, don’t hurt yourself.” Kokichi poked one hand out and patted condescendingly at his elbow. “It’s okay, it’s okay…I know you’re completely enamored with me. It can’t be helped. As soon as you confess your undying love, we can get on with your execution, okay?”

“N-n-n-n-no, no, that’s not…!”

“Nyeeheeheehee! Oh, Shumai…”

Maybe it was due to the warmth of his body under the covers, but Kokich looked a little bit flushed himself as he proclaimed… “We’re partners, duh. Not _equals_ , mind you, but you’re my underling and my partner in crime…at least for now.”

“Aha…haha, yes.” Shuichi had to forcefully calm his own heartbeat, pressing into his chest and taking a few measured breaths. “At least…I’m glad you slept through the night.”

“Ugh, yeah. It’s awful. And look at this shit.” Kokichi finally threw the covers down, exposing the rest of his body. And Shuichi immediately saw it, especially when he poked at it. His belly had deflated quite a bit, but there was still a slightly visible little outstretched bump to it, still full from last night’s feast. “I still feel like a blimp.”

“Well…at least all that food should help you get better. Speaking of which…” Shuichi nodded towards the breakfast tray on the table. “The Monokubs brought us some breakfast.”

“…Oh fuck me, you’re not thinking of…?”

“Ah, I won’t force you to finish it, but…you can’t just skip breakfast. I used to skip breakfast all the time, and…it wasn’t good for me. Just a few bites, alright?”

As it turned out, Kokichi felt a bit more enthusiastic once Shuichi brought the tray over and he got a look at the pancakes. They were still warm and soft and fluffy, drizzled with sweet pink strawberry syrup, and his sweet tooth couldn’t resist. Shuichi managed to feed him half the stack and a few bites of one chocolate chip muffin, before he started refusing and turning his head away. And Shuichi knew when no was no—no amount of fetishistic attraction would change that.

With another small meal settling into it, Kokichi’s little tummy had swelled out just slightly more again. Shuichi tried not to feel so amused and excited watching him struggle to reattach his belt and slide his shirt on again, but he just couldn’t help it. The shirt-jacket fit snugly against his full belly, showing just a hint of bulge in the line of its stapled side and pulled fabric. Damnit, that was also really cute…he just wanted to brush his fingers over it again, but he was feeling a lot more self-conscious this morning.

Shuichi wolfed down his own breakfast and also got re-dressed. And now, they would have to go through the arduous process of exiting the love hotel the same way they’d come in. At least it was easier for Kokichi to descend the stairs while blindfolded than climbing up them.

Before dragging his partner through the door, Shuichi paused to take one last glance at the ground floor. _Funny…this was a place the Mastermind set up specifically for me to experience intimate fantasies with my classmates. And yet...there was nothing here catering to my…interests._ He was certain the Monokubs had brought breakfast for that very reason--“Hey, he’s a feeder, so let’s bring him more food to feed Kokichi with.” But either the Mastermind had overlooked that aspect of his personality, or…they had never known. It was…too much of a new development.

They stepped out into the perpetual nighttime sky-dome of the casino area, the heavy doors clacking closed and locking tight behind them, and Kokichi ripped the bandanna from his face, gasping and sighing with relief. “Phew! Man, another couple minutes, and I would’ve totally passed out dramatically into your arms.”

Meanwhile, Shuichi’s gold-grey eyes slid towards the direction of the spinning casino entryway. He hadn’t paid it a visit yesterday…but as he considered the prospect, he didn’t feel upset or anxious. Whatever itchy need he had for gambling action had been far, far outweighed by… _this_. And right now, it even seemed boring in comparison. Pushing delicious nourishment past Kokichi’s soft lips was a million times more fulfilling than pushing coins into a cold, unrelenting metal slot. Perhaps this experience had cured him. And all he needed in his life was for this little purple-haired piece of shit to nibble out of his hand every once in a while. But then again…there might not _be_ many more opportunities for him to gamble away his stash of worthless Monokuma-stamped tokens.

_Day nine…there’s only one more day after this._ And instead of working together to solve the conundrum of their imprisonment, they’d just squandered it indulging in self-gratification. He’d _let_ Kokichi lead him into it…though he couldn’t bring himself to regret it.

Though he knew it was fake, a creeping sense of dread began to roll over him as he gazed into the infinite, starless blackness of the artificial night. Because the _real_ night would come all too soon, because time was ticking away from underneath him.

Kokichi seemed not to notice or care, and he began to stroll ahead down the pathway to the area gate. But…no. Shuichi couldn’t just up and leave right now. No, there was something else he needed to address, even if he’d never get a solid confirmation.

“Kokichi, wait. I…I know what’s wrong with you now. You…don’t have to struggle to try to conceal it from me anymore.”

“…Oh, really?” He halted in place…and when he flipped around, he was lifting a finger to his lips. His body was hunched inward, trying to look intimidating…but his swollen little gut kind of detracted from the effect. “I highly doubt that. But go on, Mister Ultimate Detective, give me your best shot. It’s gonna be wrong, though.”

Shuichi sighed, knowing he’d never actually admit it, even if he was right. But nevertheless, he had to share this theory, push it out into the open. Because he was _sure_.

“You’ve been having…visions. Just like mine. Memories. Flashes of memory. And they manifest as nightmares…nightmares of things so horrible, so gruesome, that you wake up vomiting. So…it’s only natural that you would decide it’s better to not eat, to not even attempt to sleep. I know you know more than me. I talked to Kiibo today, and he told me how traumatized you were when he first met you. I can only conclude that you remember something awful that happened before our imprisonment. That’s why you don’t eat or sleep…because your body, your _mind_ won’t _let_ you.”

“…..Hn.” Kokichi was silent for a long moment, expression unreadable…though he appeared to be pinching his lower lip inward just a tad. His arms automatically rose to tuck themselves behind his head again.

“…Nnnnnnope!” He shattered his own contemplative silence by imitating a grating buzzer. “Pretty close, but no stick of gum for you!”

“Is that a lie?” Shuichi pressed. No, he was _positive._ “Because I think you’re lying right now.”

“Ooooh, am I gonna get interrogated?” Kokichi leaned sideways a bit, balancing his weight. “But alright, okay, I may have lied a _liiiiitle_.” His voice lowered, losing its taunting edge, smoothing into a stony flatness. “You’re right. Everything that you said is pretty much true. Except…that’s not the _only_ reason.”

He paused…and though nothing in his demeanor changed, Shuichi felt an icy shiver run down his neck. “Haha…you don’t even know what you’re doing, Shumai. You’re just going to suffer all the more. It’s going to be agonizing...”

Normally…when he said these sorts of things, Kokichi would put on his creepiest, most dreadful-looking face…but the fact that he _wasn’t_ made these words even more dreadful. He looked Shuichi straight in the face, and Shuichi gathered all of his will, his stubborn determination, his faith and assurance…and met his eyes.

Something inside them, inside the watery pools of his soul…seemed to be speaking to him. And then a single, spoken word, as if issuing from his very being… “ _Death_.”

Something inside Shuichi _snapped_. Part of his brain’s wiring let go, tearing apart and shattering the floodgates. He heard his own voice screaming, scratching up his throat as his knees gave in, slamming hard into the concrete. And he knew. He saw. He saw _death_.

He saw Rantaro Amami, lying in a puddle of his own blood, Kaede Akamatsu hanging limply by a rope before a wall of metal spikes, Ryoma Hoshi floating lifeless in a pool of water, Kirumi Tojo, flesh and clothing punctured and torn into a bloody mess… Angie Yonaga and Tenko Chabashira, both lying curled and motionless, blood seeping from their necks. Death… _death_ … _Deathdeathdeathdeathdeath_.

Why was he crying? Why did it feel like he was suffocating? Why was he…here? Where _was_ here? Why were his hands shaking so violently, he couldn’t even hold his own head? _Why? Why? Why? Why? Why are they all… Why are they all…_ alive _?_

And through the storm of deafening screams and mental assaults, in the very back, at the end of a blackened tunnel of devastation, he could still hear it… Kokichi… _laughing_.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the record, I'm just as evil as Kokichi: pineapple pizza is freakin' delicious.


End file.
